UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


THE 


LIFE 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON 


BY  HIS   SON 

JOHN    C.    HAMILTON 


genus  unde  Latinum 

Albanique  patres,  atque  altae  mcenia  Romae. 


VOL.  II. 


NEW-YORK: 
D.  APPLETON   &   CO.,   200  BROADWAY- 


1840. 
5859        10 


O<f 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by  JOHN  C.  HAMILTON, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


UnirenitT  Pren. 

JOHN  F.  TROW,  PRINTER, 

114  Nunu-iueet. 


E 


CONTENTS 


SECOND    VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Laurens  to  Hamilton  —  Letters  to  De  Noailles,  La  Fayette,  and  Greene  — 
Inactivity  of  preceding  Congress  —  Public  Lands  —  Protest  of  Virginia  —  Public 
Distresses  —  Congress  of  1782-3  —  Its  Leading  Members  —  Hamilton  confers 
with  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  —  Discontents  of  the  Army  —  Letter  to,- 
Rhode  Island  —  Report  by  Hamilton  urging  a  National  Revenue—  jinking 
Fund  —  Continental  Money  —  Proceedings  thereon  —  Army  Memorial  —  Ham- 
ilton's Report  thereon  —  His  Resolution  for  a  Revenue  to  be  collected  by  Con- 
gress —  Pledges  to  provide  Revenues  to  Fund  the"T)ebt  —  Valuation  of  Landa 

—  Advises  Washington  as  to  Army  —  Letter  to  Clinton  —  Hamilton  Ttfges  that 
doors  of  Congress  be  opened—  Washington  to  Hamilton  —  Armstrong's  Ad- 
dress^^Lctter  from  Washington  —  Hamilton's  Reply  —  Meeting  of  Officers  — 
Washington's  Address  —  Letter  from  Gates—  Commendation  of  Washington 

—  Hamilton  suggests  jtjsplid  Union  —  Washington's  Reply  —  Vote  of  Half- 

Pay  ..............................  .TTTTiTTrn  ..............................................  P.  i 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Intelligence  of  Peace  —  Early  Negotiations  with  France  —  Treaty  of  Alii- 
ance  —  Instructions  to  Adams  and  Franklin  —  Ultimata  as  to  Great  Britain  — 
Memorials  of  Gerard  —  Terms  as  to  Spain  —  Adams  desires  to  treat  with 
England  —  Repressed  by  Vergennes  —  Jay's  Despatches  —  Instructions  to  in. 
sist  on  Navigation  of  Mississippi  —  Madison  enters  Congress  —  French  Influ- 
ence —  Invasion  of  Virginia  —  Flight  of  Jefferson  —  Capture  of  Richmond  — 
Second  Flight  of  Jefferson  —  Resolutions  as  to  Mississippi  —  Memorial  of  La 
Luzerne  to  Congress  —  Pretensions  of  Spain  —  Madison's  Instructions  to 


IV  CONTENTS. 

Jay — Spain  refuses  Aids — Conference  of  La  Luzeme  with  Congress — 
Subsidy  of  France — Instructions  to  accept  the  Mediation  of  Russia — 
Instructions  submitting  Terms  of  Treaty  with  England  to  control  of 
France — Madison  proposes  Grant  of  Power  to  exert  Force  against  De- 
linquent States — Hamilton's  Objections — Madison's  Instructions  to  Adams 
— His  Commission  revoked — Adams's  Mission  to  Holland — Writes  to  Rus- 
sia— Denmark  and  Sweden — Vergennes  suggests  another  Minister — Adams 
proceeds  to  Paris — Returns  to  Amsterdam — His  Memorial  and  Letter  to 
Congress — Dana's  Mission  to  Russia — Hamilton  advises  temporary  Treaty 
with  Russia — Recommends  a  Neutral  Policy — Terms  of  Treaty  with  Eng- 
land— Letter  of  Marbois — Overtures  of  England — Missions  of  Hartley,  Os- 
wald, Grenville — Jay  disapproves  Instructions — Repairs  to  Paris — Confer- 
ences— Concludes  a  Provisional  Treaty — Conferences  with  D'Aranda — Re- 
port of  R.  R,  Livingston  on  the  Negotiation — Censure  Proposed — Supported 
by  Madison — Resisted — Hamilton's  Encomium  on  Negotiation — Deprecates 
Foreign  Influence p.  80 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Half-Pay — Hamilton's  Correspondence  with  Washington — Army  Claims 
— Parties  in  Congress — Substantial  Funfe^Harhilton  to  Washington  as  to 
Execution  of  Treaty — Reply — Army  Claims — Hamilton  advises  a  National 
Marine  and  National  Coinage — Proceedings  as  to  Revenue — Proposed  Taxes 
— Hamilton  condemns  Arbitrary  Assessments — Report  as  .to  Revenue — Ham- 
ilton's Substitute — Ratio  of  Contributien— Hamilton  to  Clinton — Morris  re- 
solves to  resign — Consents  to  continue  in  Office — Hamilton's  Report  as  to 
Invalid  Corps — His  Resolutions  as  to  Army — Remonstrance  to  British  Gov- 
ernment— Removal  of  Obstructionsto~~flle  Treaty — Hamilton  to  Clinton — 
Controversy  with  Vermont — Hamilton  to  Clinton — Reports  Plan  Quarter- 
master-General's Department — Plan  regulating  Intercourse  with  Indians — 
Plan  of  State  Department  and  Plan  of  Peace  Establishment — Militia  System 
— Garrisoning  Frontier  Posts — Letter  to  Clinton — Urges  Humanity  to  In- 
dians— Mutiny  at  Philadelphia — His  Views  of  it — Congress  adjourn  to 
Princeton — Hamilton's  Policy  and  Opinions — His  Resolutions  recommend- 
ing a  New  Constitution  and  a  General  Convention p.  154 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Journey  to  Albany — Return  to  New- York — Letters  of  McHenry  and  Jay 
— Commences  the  Profession  of  the  Law — Important  Argument — Proceed- 
ings of  New-York  Legislature — Persecution  of  British  Adherents — Election  in 
New- York — Burr  and  Clinton — Hamilton  resists  a  violent  Policy,  and  sus- 
tains the  Treaty — Publishes  Essays  of  Phocion — Lenient  Counsels  prevail — 
Forms  Plan  of  a  Bank — Manumission  of  Slaves p-  239 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Foreign  Policy  of  United  States — Hamilton's  Views — Terms  of  Inter- 
course with  English  Dominions — Her  policy — Congress  of  1783,  1784 — Jef- 
ferson's Report  on  Revenue — Government  of  Western  Territory — Jefferson 
contemplates  a  Mission  to  Europe — Frames  a  Report  on  a  System  of  Trea- 
ties— Jefferson  appointed  Commissioner — Resolution  of  Massachusetts — Jay 
elected  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs — Military  Force  reduced — Committee 
of  States — Congress  of  1784-5 — Territorial  Disputes — Proceedings  of  Com- 
missioners at  Paris — Jefferson's  Negotiations  with  France — Advice  aw  to 
French  Debt — Consular  Convention — Mission  of  Gardoqui — Negotiations 
with  Spain— The  Mississippi — British  Policy — Embassy  of  Adams  to  Lon- 
don— His  Opinions — Dissatisfaction  and  Return — Jefferson's  Opinions — 
Hamilton's  Views  of  American  Policy p.  282 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Domestic  Condition  of  United  States — Cincinnati — Hamilton  Recommends 
Abolition  of  its  Hereditary  Principle — Proclamations  of  England — Retalia- 
tory Policy  of  States — Hancock — Bowdoin  recommends  a  General  Conven- 
tion— Objections  of  Massachusetts  Delegates — Commercial  Policy  of  New- 
York — Hamilton  urges  Enlargement  of  Powers  of  Congress  to  regulate 
Trade— Distresses  of  New-England — Insurrections  of  Massachusetts  and 
New-Hampshire — Virginia  proposes  a  Commercial  Convention — Meeting  at 
Annapolis — Address  by  Hamilton p.  339 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

Congress  of  1785-6 — Appeal  to  New- York — Conduct  of  Clinton — Hamil- 
ton in  New- York  Legislature — Prepares  Address — Speech  on  it — Speech  on 
Act  repealing  Laws  inconsistent  with  the  Treaty — National  and  State  Par- 
ties— His  Remarks  on  the  Election  Law — Test  Oaths — Legislative  Restric- 
tions— Fraj2£s_a_System  of  State  Taxation— Policy  as  to  Poster- GJagges — 
Law  for  Collection  of  Small  Debts — Bankrupt  Act — Criminal  Jurisprudence 
— System  of  Public  Instruction — Speech  on  the  Impost — Speech  on  Inde- 
pendence of  Vermont p.  381 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Congress  of  1786-7 — Objections  to  proposed  Convention — Hamilton 
urges  Congress  to  recommend  it — His  Resolution  to  appoint  Delegates 
to  the  Federal  Convention — Appointed  one  of  them — Declines  a  Re-elec- 
tion to  the  Legislature — Appointments  by  the  States  to  the  Convention — 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

Sketch  of  American  Confederacies— State  Constitutions — Opinions  of  Jay, 
Madison,  Hamilton,  and  Washington,  on  New  Organization  of  Government 
— General  Convention  meets — Their  Rules — Resolutions  of  Randolph  and 
Pinckney — Debates  on  them — Constitution  of  the  Legislative  Department — 
Madison  and  Randolph  in  favour  of  a  Plural  Executive — Hamilton's  Views 
— Council  of  Revision — Jersey  Plan — Comparative  Views  of  Hamilton  and 
Madison — Lansing's  and  Patterson's  Remarks — Brief  of  Hamilton's  Speech 
—His  Plan  of  Government rTr.Tnrrrr77rr~.Trr>  448 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Debates  on  Randolph's  Resolutions — Hajiiilton  to  Washington — His  Re- 
ply— Lansing  and  Yates  leave  the  Convention — Policy  of  dmtSn — Hamil- 
ton's Appeal  to  the  People — Discussion  of  proposed  Compromise — Project 
of  Tories  as  to  Bishop  of  Osnaburgh — Hamilton  to  King — Invites  Lansing 
and  Yates  to  return  to  the  Convention — Proceedings  of  it — Committee  of 
Revisal — Hajnjllonjsigns^lhe^  Constitution — His  Opinions  of  Government — 
Proposes  a  President  for  Three  Years  in  a  Second  Plan  of  a  Constitution — 
His  Views  of  the  British  Government — Comments  on  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States — Future  Prospects — Urges  its  Adoption  as  the  best  that  could 
be  obtained p.  508 


U"  J.  C.  Journals  of  Congress. 
S.  J.  Secret  Journals. ' 
D.  C.  Diplomatic  Correspondence. 


THE  LIFE 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

[1782.] 

THE  War  of  the  Revolution,  as  a  scene  of  military 
movements,  fades  into  insignificance  before  the  conflicts 
of  the  elder  Nations  of  the  earth. 

It  is  as  a  war  of  Opinion — as  the  beginning  of  that 
great  experiment  in  modern  times,  whether  men  are  capa- 
ble of  self-government — that  it  assumes  its  immeasurable 
importance. 

A  new  World  is  seen  rising  into  view — a  World  of 
Hope  ;  and  as  the  great  lights  that  shone  upon  its  morning 
path  of  advancing  glory  appear,  the  grateful  inquiry  is  — 
Whose  were  those  superior  minds  that,  amid  the  dark- 
ness of  a  chaotic  confederacy,  combined  the  elements 
of  Social  order,  and  formed  them  into  a  vast  majestic 
Empire  ? 

The  Wealth  of  Nations  is  their  illustrious  few. 


2  TIIELIFEOF 

While  Hamilton,  at  the  head  of  his  corps,  was  approach- 
ing York  Town,  letters  were  addressed  to  him  urging  his 
acceptance  of  a  seat  in  congress.  But  it  was  possible 
that  his  services  in  the  field  might  yet  be  required,  and  he 
was  unwilling  to  retire  from  the  army. 

"  I  would  not  wish,"  Laurens  wrote,  "  to  have  you  for 
a  moment  withdrawn  from  the  public  service ;  at  the  same 
time  my  friendship  for  you,  and  knowledge  of  your  value  to 
the  United  States,  make  me  most  ardently  desire  that  you 
should  fill  only  the  first  offices  of  the  republic.  I  was  flatter- 
ed with  an  account  of  your  being  elected  a  delegate  from 
New- York,  and  am  much  mortified  not  to  hear  it  confirmed 
by  yourself.  I  must  confess  to  you,  that  at  the  present  stage 
of  the  war  I  should  prefer  your  going  into  congress,  and 
from  thence  becoming  a  minister  plenipotentiary  for  peace,* 
to  your  remaining  in  the  army,  where  the  dull  system  of 
seniority  and  the  tableau  would  prevent  you  from  having 
the  important  command  to  which  you  are  entitled." 

As  the  prospect  of  peace  opened,  Hamilton  changed  his 
views,  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  great  council  of  the 
confederacy,  over  which  he  had  hitherto  exerted  an  unac- 
knowledged influence  with  much  gratification. 

The  partial  success  which  had  attended  his  efforts,  as 
continental  receiver,  to  draw  out  the  public  resources, 
taught  him  that  little  was  to  be  expected  from  domestic 
supplies.  A  loan  which  he  had  endeavoured  to  effect 
during  his  residence  at  Albany  had  failed,  and  he  now 
looked  to  France  as  affording  the  only  hope  of  relieving 
the  distresses  of  the  treasury. 

*  La  Fayette,  when  in  Europe,  urged  the  minister  of  France  to  use  his 
influence  that  Hamilton  should  be  sent  envoy  to  London. — "  I  advise  you  to 
take  a  gentleman  who  has  no  connection  with  the  great  men  in  England. 
Our  friend  Hamilton  would  be  a  very  proper  choice.  You  ought  to  bring  it 
about.  There  are  few  men  so  honest  and  sensible.  I  hope  you  may  send 
him.  He  knows  better  than  all  the  British  councils." 


HAMILTON. 

That  hope  was  faint.  The  capture  of  Cornwallis  had 
induced  her  ministry  late  in  the  preceding  year  to  make 
a  new  loan,  with  a  view  to  the  recovery  of  New  York 
and  Charleston ;  but  they  at  the  same  time  announced  in  the 
most  peremptory  manner  their  determination  not  to  grant 
larger  aids.  Yet  there  was  no  other  resource  ;  and  under 
this  conviction  he  addressed  the  following  letters  to  De 
Noailles  and  La  Fayette. 

"  Esteem  for  your  talents  and  acquirements,  is  a  senti- 
ment which  from  my  earliest  acquaintance  with  you,  my 
dear  viscount,  I  have  shared  in  common  with  all  those 
who  have  the  happiness  of  knowing  you ;  but  a  better 
knowledge  of  your  character  has  given  it  in  my  eyes  a 
more  intrinsic  merit,  and  has  attached  me  to  you  by  a 
friendship  founded  upon  qualities  as  rare  as  they  are  esti- 
mable. Averse  as  I  am  to  professions,  I  cannot  forbear 
indulging  this  declaration,  to  express  to  you  the  pleasure 
I  feel  at  receiving,  after  an  inexplicable  delay,  the  letter 
you  were  so  obliging  as  to  write  me  before  your  depart- 
ure from  Boston.  It  was  of  that  kind  which  is  always 
produced  by  those  attentions  of  friends  we  value,  which, 
not  being  invited  by  circumstances  nor  necessitated  by 
the  forms  of  society,  bespeak  the  warmth  of  the  heart ;  at 
least,  my  partiality  for  you  makes  me  fond  of  viewing  it 
in  this  light,  and  I  cherish  the  opinion. 

"  I  was  chagrined  to  find  that  you  left  us  with  an  intention 
not  to  return.  Though  I  should  be  happy  if,  by  a  removal 
of  the  war,  this  country  should  cease  to  be  a  proper  thea- 
tre for  your  exertions,  yet  if  it  continues  to  be  so,  I  hope 
you  will  find  sufficient  motives  to  change  your  resolution. 
Wherever  you  are,  you  will  be  useful  and  distinguished ; 
but  the  ardent  desire  I  have  of  meeting  you  again,  makes 
me  wish  America  may  be  your  destination.  I  would  will- 
ingly do  it  in  France,  as  you  invite  me  to  do ;  but  the 


4  THE    LIFE    OF 

prospect  of  this  is  remote.  I  must  make  a  more  solid 
establishment  here  before  I  can  conveniently  go  abroad. 
There  is  no  country  I  have  a  greater  curiosity  to  see,  or 
which  I  am  persuaded  would  be  so  interesting  to  me,  as 
yours.  I  should  be  happy  to  renew  and  improve  the  valu- 
able acquaintances  from  thence  which  this  war  has  given 
me  an  opportunity  of  making ;  and  though  I  would  not 
flatter  myself  with  deriving  any  advantage  from  it,  I  am 
persuaded  it  is  there  I  should  meet  with  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  those  you  describe,  who,  &c. :  but  considerations 
of  primary  importance  will  oblige  me  to  submit  to  the 
mortification  of  deferring  my  visit. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  I  should  be  too  much  the  gainer  by 
a  communication  with  you,  not  gladly  to  embrace  the  offer 
you  so  politely  make  for  writing  to  each  other. 

"  The  period  since  you  left  us  has  been  too  barren  of 
events  to  enable  me  to  impart  any  thing  worth  attention. 
The  enemy  continues  in  possession  of  Charleston  and 
Savannah,  and  leaves  us  master  of  the  rest  of  the  country. 
It  is  said  the  assemblies  of  the  two  invaded  states  are 
about  meeting  to  restore  the  administration  of  govern- 
ment. This  will  be  a  step  to  strengthening  the  hands  of 
General  Greene  and  counteracting  the  future  intrigues  of 
the  enemy.  Many  are  sanguine  in  believing  that  all  the 
southern  posts  will  be  evacuated,  and  that  a  fleet  of  trans- 
ports is  actually  gone  to  bring  the  garrisons  away ;  for 
my  part,  I  have  doubts  upon  the  subject.  My  politics  are, 
that  while  the  present  ministry  can  maintain  their  seats 
and  procure  supplies,  they  will  prosecute  the  war  on  the 
mere  chance  of  events ;  and  that  while  this  is  the  plan,  they 
will  not  evacuate  posts  so  essential  as  points  of  departure, 
from  whence,  on  any  favourable  turn  of  affairs,  to  renew 
their  attack  on  our  most  vulnerable  side  ;  nor  would  they 
relinquish  objects  that  would  be  so  useful  to  them,  should 
the  worst  happen  in  a  final  negotiation.  Clinton,  it  is 


HAMILTON.  5 

said,  is  cutting  a  canal  across  New- York  island,  through 
the  low  ground  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city. 
This  will  be  an  additional  obstacle ;  but  if  we  have  other- 
wise the  necessary  means  to  operate,  it  will  not  be  an  in- 
surmountable one.  I  do  not  hear  that  he  is  constructing 
any  other  new  works  of  consequence.  To  you  who  are  so 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  military  posture  of  things 
in  this  country,  I  need  not  say  that  the  activity  of  the  next 
campaign  must  absolutely  depend  on  effectual  succours 
from  France.  I  am  convinced  we  shall  have  a  powerful 
advocate  in  you.  La  Fayette,  we  know,  will  bring  the 
whole  house  with  him  if  he  can. 

"  There  has  been  no  material  change  in  our  internal  situa- 
tion since  you  left  us.  The  capital  successes  we  have  had, 
have  served  rather  to  increase  the  hopes  than  the  exertions 
of  the  particular  states.  But  in  one  respect  we  are  in  a 
mending  way.  Our  financier  has  hitherto  conducted  him- 
self with  great  ability,  has  acquired  an  entire  personal 
confidence,  revived  in  some  measure  the  public  credit,  and 
is  conciliating  fast  the  support  of  the  moneyed  men. 

"  His  operations  have  hitherto  hinged  chiefly  on  the  sea- 
sonable aids  from  your  country  ;  but  he  is  urging  the  es- 
tablishment of  permanent  funds  among  ourselves;  and 
though,  from  the  nature  and  temper  of  our  governments, 
his  applications  will  meet  with  a  dilatory  compliance,  it  is 
to  be  hoped  they  will  by  degrees  succeed.  The  institution 
of  a  bank  has  been  very  serviceable  to  him.  The  com- 
mercial interest,  finding  great  advantages  in  it,  and  antici- 
pating much  greater,  is  disposed  to  promote  the  plan ;  and 
nothing  but  moderate  funds,  permanently  pledged  for  the 
security  of  lenders,  is  wanting  to  make  it  an  engine  of  the 
most  extensive  and  solid  utility. 

"  By  the  last  advices,  there  is  reason  to  believe  the  delin- 
quent states  will  shortly  comply  with  the  requisition  of 
congress  for  a  duty  on  our  imports.  This  will  be  a  great 


6  TIIELIFEOF 

resource  to  Mr.  Morris,  but  it  will  not  alone  be  suffi- 
cient. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  however,  if  the  war  continues  another 
year,  it  will  be  necessary  that  congress  should  again  recur 
to  the  generosity  of  France  for  pecuniary  assistance.  The 
plans  of  the  financier  cannot  be  so  matured  as  to  enable 
us  by  any  possibility  to  dispense  with  this  ;  and  if  he  should 
fail  for  want  of  support,  we  must  replunge  into  that  con- 
fusion and  distress  which  had  like  to  have  proved  fatal  to 
us,  and  out  of  which  we  are  slowly  emerging.  The  cure 
in  a  relapse  would  be  infinitely  more  difficult  than  ever. 

"  I  have  given  you  an  uninteresting  but  a  faithful  sketch 
of  our  situation.  You  may  expect  from  time  to  time  to 
receive  from  me  the  progress  of  our  affairs,  and  I  know 
you  will  overpay  me." 

La  Fayette,  who  married  a  sister  of  De  Noailles,  had 
recently  returned  to  France.  Hamilton  wrote  his  friend : — 
"  I  have  been  employed  for  the  last  ten  months  in  rocking 
the  cradle  and  studying  the  art  of  fleecing  my  neighbours. 
I  am  now  a  grave  counsellor  at  law,  and  shall  soon  be 
a  grave  member  of  congress.  I  am  going  to  throw 
away  a  few  months  more  in  public  life,  and  then  I  re- 
tire a  simple  citizen  and  good  pater  familias.  You  see 
the  disposition  I  am  in.  You  are  condemned  to  run  the 
race  of  ambition  all  your  life ;  I  am  already  tired  of  the 
career,  and  dare  to  leave  it.  You  tell  me  they  are  employ- 
ed in  building  a  peace,  and  other  accounts  say  it  is  nearly 
finished.  It  is  necessary  for  America,  especially  if  your 
army  is  taken  from  us.  That  was  an  essential  point  d'ap- 
pui.  The  money  was  the  primum  mobile  of  our  finances, 
which  must  now  lose  the  little  activity  lately  given  them. 
Our  trade  is  prodigiously  cramped.  These  states  are  in 
no  humour  for  continuing  exertions.  If  the  war  lasts,  it 
must  be  carried  on  by  external  succours.  I  make  no 


HAMILTON.  7 

apology  for  the  inertness  of  the  country.  I  detest  it ;  but 
since  it  exists,  I  am  sorry  to  see  other  resources  diminish. 
Is  there  any  thing  you  wish  on  this  side  the  water? 
You  know  the  warmth  and  sincerity  of  my  attachment. 
Command  me.  Is  the  worthy  Gouvion  well  ?  How  is  it 
with  our  friend  Gimat  ?  How  is  it  with  Du  Portail  ?  All 
these  are  men  of  merit,  and  interest  my  best  wishes." 

He  also  addressed  a  letter  to  General  Greene  : — "  It  is 
an  age  since  I  have  either  written  to  you  or  received  a 
line  from  you,  yet  I  persuade  myself  you  have  not  been 
the  less  convinced  of  my  affectionate  attachment  and  warm 
participation  in  all  those  events  which  have  given  you  that 
place  in  your  country's  esteem  and  approbation,  which  I 
have  known  you  to  deserve  while  your  enemies  and  rivals 
were  most  active  in  sullying  your  reputation." — "  I  feel," 
he  added,  "  the  deepest  affliction  at  the  news  we  have  just 
received  of  the  loss  of  our  dear  and  estimable  friend  Lau- 
rens.  His  career  of  virtue  is  at  an  end.  How  strangely 
are  human  affairs  conducted,  that  so  many  excellent  quali- 
ties could  not  ensure  a  more  happy  fate  !  The  world  will 
feel  the  loss  of  a  man  who  has  left  few  like  him  behind ; 
and  America,  of  a  citizen  whose  heart  realized  that  patri- 
otism of  which  others  only  talk.  I  shall  feel  the  loss  of  a 
friend  I  truly  and  most  tenderly  loved,  and  one  of  a  very 
small  number.  I  take  the  liberty  to  enclose  a  letter  to  Mr 
Kane,  executor  to  the  estate  of  Mr.  Lavine,  a  half-brother 
of  mine,  who  died  some  time  since  in  South  Carolina." 
A  few  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  congress  rose.* 
Though  among  its  members  there  were  men  of  high 
personal  character  and  of  eminent  patriotism,  such  as  Duane 
and  Hanson,  Izard  and  Middleton,  with  the  exception  of 
Boudinot,  Madison,  and  Edmund  Randolph,  there  were  no 
names  conspicuous  in  the  after  history  of  their  country. 

*  November  4,  1782. 


8  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  executive  departments,  as  Hamilton  anticipated  when 
he  suggested  them,  were  introducing  system  and  economy 
into  the  administration ;  and  thus  the  annual  expenditure, 
which  had  risen  to  twenty,  was  reduced  to  eight  millions. 

But  there  was  not  in  the  national  legislature  a  single  in- 
dividual who  combined  the  qualities  necessary  to  give  to 
the  public  councils  the  impulse,  the  direction,  and  the  vigour 
which  the  condition  of  the  country  so  much  demanded. 

With  repeated  and  impressive  earnestness  the  superin- 
tendent of  finance  is  seen  exhorting  the  adoption  of  meas- 
ures suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  period,  but  no  answer- 
ing voice  is  heard  from  congress. 

The  creation  of  a  currency — the  importance  of  funding 
the  debt — the  utility  of  loans — the  necessity  of  revenue 
supplemental  to  that  to  be  derived  from  the  impost — of  a 
land  tax,  a  poll  tax,  an  excise — were  all  urged  by  him,  but 
urged  in  vain. 

The  early  enthusiasm  of  the  nation  had  passed  away. 
The  authority  of  government  had  not  followed :  all  was 
apathy  and  irresolution,  or  temporary  expedient. 

Funds  could  not  indeed  be  obtained  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  states ;  but  the  great  principles  of  public  faith 
might  have  been  enforced.  Pledges  to  fulfil  it  might  have 
been  given.  The  people  might  have  been  appealed  to, 
and  thus  accustomed  to  the  always  useful  language  of  truth. 

The  incorporation  of  a  bank,  opposed  by  Madison  from 
scruples  as  to  its  constitutionality,  was  the  only  measure 
of  relief  adopted. 

While  waiting  the  concurrence  of  the  states  in  the  grant 
of  authority  to  collect  an  impost,  endeavours  were  made 
to  induce  a  cession  of  the  unappropriated  lands  to  the 
common  treasury. 

The  disposal  of  this  vast  domain  had  early  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  general  legislature. 

Assuming  that  the  unappropriated  territory  had  become 


HAMILTON.  9 

national  property,  a  bounty  in  the  public  lands  was  offered, 
the  second  year  of  the  war,  as  an  inducement  to  enlist. 
Averse  to  this  measure,  Maryland  suggested  the  substitute 
of  a  money  bounty,  but  the  suggestion  was  not  approved. 

Two  years  after,  Virginia  passed  a  law  opening  offices 
for  the  sale  of  her  lands.  As  her  territorial  claims  were 
regarded  with  much  jealousy  by  the  other  states,  congress 
urged  her  "  to  forbear." 

New-Jersey  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  articles  of 
the  confederatidn,  which,  while  it  admitted  the  jurisdiction 
of  each  state  over  the  public  demesne  within  its  chartered 
limits,  declared  that  the  crown  lands  ought  to  belong  to 
congress  in  trust  for  the  United  States. 

Maryland,  when  she  approved  those  articles,  instructed 
her  delegates  not  to  ratify  them  unless  the  principle  was 
distinctly  admitted  of  a  joint  interest  of  the  United  States 
in  this  territory.  Virginia  interposed  a  remonstrance. 

Sensible  of  the  importance  of  removing  this  obstacle  to 
a  completion  of  the  confederation,  New- York,  though  one 
of  the  largest  claimants,  soon  after  made  a  cession  of  her 
rights. 

Congress  hastened  to  avail  themselves  of  this  propitious 
example  ;  and  having  expressly  declined  a  discussion  of  the 
conflicting  claims,  recommended  a  liberal  surrender  by  the 
states,  in  order  to  establish  the  federal  union  on  a  perma- 
nent basis. 

They  soon  after  resolved  that  the  ceded  lands  should  be 
disposed  of  for  the  common  benefit,  and  formed  into  dis- 
tinct republican  states  to  become  members  of  the  union. 
They  also  declared  that  the  expenses  incurred  by  any  par- 
ticular state  in  the  reduction  of  any  British  posts,  or  in  the 
defence  or  acquisition  of  any  part  of  the  ceded  territory, 
should  be  reimbursed. 

Alive  to  the  importance  of  completing  the  articles  of 
confederation,  Maryland,  though  she  still  affirmed  her  title 


10  THELIFEOP 

to  a  share  in  the  unappropriated  lands,  at  last  acceded  to 
them. 

Virginia  adhered  to  her  original  views.  A  narrow 
policy  swayed  her  councils — a  policy  which,  content  with 
the  temporary  political  importance  she  conferred  on  her 
public  men,  left  her  great  resources  without  culture,  and 
sacrificed  her  permanent  interests  to  their  speculative 
theories. 

The  claims  of  the  whole  union  were  denominated 
"aggressions" — aggressions  which  she  ought  to  be  pre- 
pared to  resist.  Yielding  at  last,  she  made  a  formal  ces- 
sion of  her  lands,  but  clogged  with  conditions  which  con- 
gress pronounced  "  incompatible  with  the  honour,  interest, 
and  peace  of  the  union."  By  one  of  these  conditions,  a 
guarantee  of  her  territory  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Ohio 
was  required. 

This  subject  was  some  time  after  resumed,  and  a  day 
was  proposed  to  consider  the  western  limits  beyond  which 
congress  would  not  extend  their  guarantee  to  the  particu- 
lar states,  to  ascertain  what  territory  belonged  to  the 
United  States,  and  to  establish  a  plan  for  the  disposal  of  it 
in  order  to  discharge  the  national  debts. 

The  delegates  of  Virginia,  Jones,  Madison,  and  Randolph, 
protested.  They  refused  to  give  evidence  of  her  title,  as 
New- York  had  done — stated  that  congress  had  recom- 
mended a  "  liberal  surrender,"  and  to  make  her  acts  of  ces- 
sion the  basis  of  a  discussion  of  her  rights,  was  in  direct 
contravention  of  that  recommendation.* 

*  Madison  wrote  to  Pcndleton : — "  You  are  not  mistaken  in  your  appre- 
hensions for  our  western  interests.  An  agrarian  law  is  as  much  coveted  by 
the  little  members  of  the  union,  as  ever  it  was  by  the  indigent  citizens  of 

Rome. We  have  made  every  opposition  and  remonstrance  to  the  conduct 

of  the  committee  which  the  forms  of  proceedings  will  admit.  When  a  report 
is  made,  we  shall  renew  our  efforts  upon  more  eligible  ground,  but  with  little 
hope  of  arresting  any  aggression  upon  Virginia,  which  depends  solely  on 
the  inclination  of  congress." "  We  are  very  anxious  to  bring  the  mat&r  to 


HAMILTON.  11 

Notwithstanding  her  pertinacity,  the  utility  of  the  meas- 
ure was  too  obvious  to  permit  its  being  abandoned,  and 
late  in  this  congressional  year  a  report  was  made  to  con- 
gress, again  recommending  cessions  of  these  lands  as  "  an 
important  fund  for  the  discharge  of  the  national  debt." 
On  the  final  vote,  this  report  was  lost  by  a  geographical 
division.  The  states  north  of  the  Potomac  being  unani- 
mous in  favour  of  it,  and  the  four  southern  states,  with  the 
exception  of  two  members,  opposing  it.* 

A  strong  indication  of  the  feelings  on  this  subject,  was 
also  given  in  a  vote  on  the  instructions  as  to  the  terms  of 
a  treaty  with  England.  On  a  motion  to  amend  them 
so  as  to  require  that  France  should  support  the  territorial 
claims  of  these  states,  Maryland  proposed  to  insert  the 
word  "  united"  before  the  word  "  states."  The  proposi- 
tion was  rejected.  Thus,  from  these  collisions,  all  ex- 
pectation of  relief  from  that  great  source  of  wealth  was 
disappointed. 

The  controversies  as  to  limits  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Connecticut,  and  between  New- York  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  New-Hampshire  grants,  now  comprised  within 
Vermont,  were  also  unadjusted.  The  contentions  pro- 
duced by  these  controversies  extended  their  influence 
to  other  members  of  the  confederacy,  and  as  the  decision 
would  affect  their  future  political  weight,  occupied  a  large 
share  in  their  discussions. 

A  proposal  had  been  made  for  a  requisition  to  pay  the 
interest  on  the  liquidated  accounts.  But  the  condition  of 

issue,  that  the  state  may  know  what  course  their  honour  and  security  require 

them  to  take." — Nov.  1781. "  Considering  the  extensive  interests  and 

claims  which  Virginia  has,  and  the  enemies  and  calumnies  which  these  very 
claims  form  against  her,  she  is  perhaps  under  the  strongest  obligation  of  any 
state  in  the  Union  to  preserve  her  military  contingent  on  a  respectable  foot- 
ing ;  and  unhappily  her  line  is,  perhaps,  of  all,  in  the  most  disgraceful  condi- 
tion.^-April,  1782.— Madison  Papers,  vol.  1,  pages  99, 101, 117. 
*  ayes — Bland  and  Izard. 


12  THELIFEOF 

the  treasury  forbade  its  adoption  ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
exertions  of  the  superintendent  of  finance,  congress  were 
compelled  to  pass  a  resolution  suspending  the  payment  of 
the  interest  on  the  loan-office  certificates. — The  only  re- 
maining vestige  of  public  credit  was  effaced. 

This  session,  so  fruitless  in  results,  at  last  closed  with 
another  requisition  of  six  millions  of  dollars  for  the  cur- 
rent service :  again  showing  the  impotence  of  what  Ham- 
ilton had  long  since  pronounced  it — "This  futile  and 
senseless  confederation." 

The  community  presented  in  its  private  relations  a  not 
less  disheartening  scene.  The  waste  of  war  had  pro- 
duced an  increased  demand  for  the  products  of  agricul- 
ture, which  in  some  measure  supplied  the  want  of  a 
foreign  market ;  and  the  expenditures  of  the  government 
had,  during  its  earlier  periods,  created  a  fulness  and 
rapidity  of  circulation  which  bore  the  semblance  of  pros- 
perity. The  numbers  employed  in  military  service  had 
also  induced  an  increased  demand  for  labour,  so  as  to 
enhance  its  value.  But  when  the  currency  depreciated, 
and  the  wants  of  the  government  were  reduced,  when 
trade  began  to  be  restored  to  its  natural  level,  and  the 
enforcement  of  debts  followed,  the  people  awakened  from 
their  illusions ;  the  tranquillity  of  society  was  disturbed, 
and  it  seemed  as  though  a  pestilence,  as  unforeseen  as  fatal, 
was  sweeping  over  the  land. 

To  these  evils  flowing  from  the  obstruction  of  industry, 
from  vitiated  unfunded  paper  emissions,  from  national 
bankruptcy,  were  added  the  pernicious  consequences  of 
legislative  proscription.  It  was  after  a  comprehensive 
survey  of  these  manifold  evils  that  Hamilton  remarked, 
"  The  more  I  see,  the  more  I  find  reason  for  those  who 
love  this  country  to  weep  over  its  blindness." 

Various  circumstances  combined  to  render  the  session 
of  congress  which  had  just  commenced  one  of  the  deftest 


HAMILTON.  13 

interest — the  period  at  which  it  assembled,  the  retire- 
ment of  many  of  the  elder  members  who  had  previously 
directed  the  public  councils,  the  devolution  of  these  upon 
younger  men,  whose  views  had  not  been  developed,  and 
the  importance  of  the  topics  upon  which  they  were  called 
to  act. 

The  principal  of  these  were — the  restoration  of  the 
public  credit  by  the  reduction  of  the  expenditures  of 
the  confederacy,  and  by  the  establishment  of  perma- 
nent funds  for  its  support,  and  for  the  redemption  of 
the  debt ;  the  adjustment  of  the  terms  of  peace,  and  the 
conclusion  of  a  treaty  with  England ;  the  organization 
of  a  peace  establishment ;  and  the  disbanding  of  the  residue 
of  the  army  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  embarrass- 
ment. 

Of  the  proceedings  on  these  questions,  few  other  memo- 
rials remain  than  those  which  are  to  be  gleaned  from  the 
journals  of  congress,  and  such  occasional  lights  as  may  be 
derived  from  the  few  letters  which  have  been  preserved 
relating  to  this  period.  Unfortunately  for  the  truth  and 
for  our  national  fame,  no  authentic  statement  of  the  de- 
bates exists ;  and  instead  of  a  sketch  of  the  ardent  discus- 
sions which  took  place,  and  which  so  much  enrich  the 
contemporaneous  history  of  the  British  parliament,  a  bare 
recital  of  a  part  of  the  naked  results  can  only  be  made. 

Yet  these  are  fully  deserving  attention,  as  giving  a  pro- 
gressive view  of  Hamilton's  opinions  and  services  in  the 
school  which  prepared  him  for  his  subsequent  career,  and 
as  indispensable  to  the  study  of  American  history. 

The  federal  legislature  was  organized  by  the  election 
of  Elias  Boudinot  as  president,  a  delegate  from  New-Jer- 
sey, who  had  rendered  many  important  services,  had  made 
many  sacrifices,  and  deservedly  enjoyed  the  largest  confi- 
dence. 

The  greatest  number  of  members  who  attended  during 


14  THE    LIFE    OF 

this  session  did  not  exceed  thirty  ;  of  these,  Witherspoon, 
Clymer,  Elsworth,  McKean,  Floyd,  and  Clark,  had  been 
delegates  in  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six. 

The  first,  a  native  of  Edinburgh  and  a  divine,  had  ac- 
quired celebrity  from  the  powerful  talent  he  had  evinced 
in  polemical  controversy,  had  received  a  finished  educa- 
tion, and  was  chiefly  distinguished  for  that  penetrating 
shrewdness  and  invincible  constancy  of  purpose  which 
mark  the  national  character  of  the  country  of  his  birth. 

Clymer  was  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  His  known 
probity  had  given  him  a  strong  hold  on  the  confidence  of 
that  city.  His  eminent  firmness  had  recommended  him  to 
the  convention  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  delegate  to  congress, 
when  Dickinson  refused  to  sign  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  other  members  had  withdrawn ;  and  thus 
his  name  is  signally  connected  with  that  imperishable  docu- 
ment. At  a  later  period  of  the  session,  Pennsylvania  was 
also  represented  by  Wilson,  a  lawyer  of  a  vigorous  and 
cultivated  intellect. 

Randolph  having  retired,  was  succeeded  by  Colonel 
Bland,  who  had  served  with  reputation  in  the  army,  was  a 
man  of  comprehensive  and  liberal  views,  and  of  a  probity 
unblemished,  unsuspected,  and  unsuspicious.  With  him 
were  associated  Jones  and  Lee,  Mercer  and  Madison, 
composing  the  delegation  from  Virginia.  The  intimate 
connection  of  the  latter  with  the  incidents  of  this  narra- 
tive, places  him  so  frequently  in  view,  as  to  supersede  the 
necessity  of  delineating  a  character  not  easily  analyzed. 

John  Rutledge,  regarded  by  South  Carolina  as  the  great 
pillar  of  the  revolution  in  that  state,  had  long  presided 
over  her  councils,  and  brought  into  this  assembly  all  the 
weight  of  an  established  reputation,  the  influence  of  in- 
flexible determination,  great  experience,  high  eloquence. 

Oliver  Elsworth  soon  after  took  his  seat,  first  among  the 
patriots  whom  Connecticut  boasts.  He  had  early  acquired 


HAMILTON.  15 

much  reputation  at  the  bar  for  his  accurate  and  extensive 
professional  attainments,  and  a  practical  sagacity,  which, 
after  long  service,  was  matured  into  a  high  civil  prudence. 
Relying  on  the  justness  of  his  own  intellect,  he  did  not 
often  seek  the  conflict  of  debate ;  but  when  an  exertion 
was  least  anticipated,  by  the  union  of  strength  with  con- 
summate skill,  he  rarely  failed  to  triumph  over  the  adverse 
party. 

With  these  able  men  Hamilton  was  now  associated. 

To  prepare  him  for  the  high  office  to  which  he  was  des- 
tined, no  individual  could  have  been  placed  in  more  aus- 
picious circumstances.  As  the  youthful  champion  of 
popular  rights  against  the  advocates  of  arbitrary  power, 
his  mind  was  early  conversant  with  all  the  great  funda- 
mental principles  of  civil  liberty.  Mingling  with  the  peo- 
ple at  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution,  he  entered  intimately 
into  all  their  sympathies,  and  saw  and  measured  the  con- 
flicting forces  of  reason  and  passion  on  masses  of  men, 
and  learned  to  give  to  each  its  due  weight  and  value. 

In  the  commission  which  he  held  during  the  campaign 
of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  he  was  taught,  in  a 
most  active  and  arduous  service  with  the  untrained  and 
ill-supplied  levies  of  an  army  little  organized,  the  impor- 
tant lessons  of  self-dependence  and  self-command,  and 
witnessed  all  the  resource  and  elasticity,  endurance  and 
confidence,  of  the  American  character. 

As  the  confidential  aid  of  the  commander-in-chief,  his 
illustrious  friend,  every  object  was  placed  before  him  on 
the  largest  ^cale.  He  looked  upon  the  country  as  from  an 
eminence,  and  was  enabled  to  survey  it  in  all  its  bearings, 
and  to  collect  all  the  lights  of  the  vast  panorama. 

Intimate  with  all  the  inmost  councils  of  his  chief,  parti- 
cipating in  all  his  hopes  and  fears,  he  was  there  not  only 
to  suggest,  to  concert,  to  compare,  to  arrange  with  him 
the  measures  that  were  resolved,  but  was  in  their  constant 


16  THE    LIFE    OF 

administration.  Hence,  each  day  he  was  called  to  think 
for  the  morrow,  and  each  hour  learned  some  lesson  of 
practical  wisdom.  Plans  and  results  in  their  instructive 
march  passed  before  him  in  rapid  succession.  His  salient 
genius  was  forever  in  motion,  and  he  was  forever  under 
the  pressure  of  responsibility. 

The  correspondence  with  the  states  and  with  congress 
informed  him  of  the  complexity  and  defects  of  the  several 
systems,  each  asking  and  each  denying  aid  to  their  mutual 
infantile  dependence. 

His  foreign  birth  was  a  public  advantage.  It  left  him 
free  from  all  the  local  prejudices  which  infect  and  are  the 
bane  of  a  confederacy.  His  strong  vision  was  obstructed 
by  nothing  artificial ;  and  when  contending  for  the  com- 
mon cause  of  liberty,  he  felt  that  he  was  contending  for  a 
Nation  of  freemen.  The  states  were  mere  political  ex- 
istences, which  might  vanish  in  a  moment.  He  allied  all 
his  thoughts  and  directed  all  his  acts  to  one  great,  and,  as 
he  hoped,  enduring  entity — the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States. 

It  was  to  forward  this  great  purpose,  to  form  "  of  many 
one  nation,"  that  he  accepted  a  place  in  the  public  councils ; 
and  while  his  best  efforts  were  exerted  to  meet  present 
exigencies,  the  mode  in  which  he  met  them,  shows  that  he 
was  ever  intent  upon  the  great  purpose  of  securing  to 
them  the  blessings  of  liberty  in  the  establishment,  by  them- 
selves, of  a  balanced  constitution  of  government. 

Of  the  distinctive  features  of  that  commanding  and 
winning  eloquence,  the  wonder  and  the  delight  of  friend 
and  foe,  but  of  which  no  perfect  reports  are  preserved,  a 
delineation  will  not  now  be  attempted. 

It  suffices  here  to  observe  how  deeply  his  modes  of 
thinking  imparted  to  the  proceedings  of  this  body  a  new 
tone  and  character.  And  those  who  remark  in  these  pages 
the  sentiments  with  which  he  regarded  the  demands  of  the 


HAMILTON. 


army,  how  solemn  his  respect  for  the  requirements  of  jus- 
tice, how  incessant  and  undespairing  his  efforts  to  fulfil 
them,  can  best  image  to  themselves  with  what  living  touches 
and  thrilling  appeals  he  called  up  before  this  senate  their 
accumulated  wrongs,  and  with  what  deep  emotions  and 
almost  holy  zeal  he  urged,  he  enforced,  he  implored,  with 
all  the  ardour  of  his  bold  and  generous  nature,  an  honest 
fulfilment  of  the  obligations  to  public  faith. 

Of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  early  held,  these  facts 
recently  known  give  strong  evidence.  He  was  earnestly 
recommended  by  Greene  and  La  Fayette  to  the  important 
commission  of  adjutant-general ;  and  when  the  station  in 
the  country  of  highest  trust  and  widest  influences,  next  to 
that  of  the  commander-in-chief,  the  superintendence  of 
the  finances,  was  first  to  be  filled,  he  was  in  view. 

General  Sullivan,  a  delegate  from  New-Hampshire,  was 
answered  by  Washington  in  these  terms : — "  The  measure 
adopted  by  congress  of  appointing  ministers  of  war,  finance, 
and  for  foreign  affairs,  I  think  a  very  wise  one.  To  give 
efficacy  to  it,  proper  characters  will,  no  doubt,  be  chosen 
to  conduct  the  business  of  these  departments.  How  far 
Colonel  Hamilton,  of  whom  you  ask  my  opinion  as  a  finan- 
cier, has  turned  his  thoughts  to  that  particular  study,  I  am 
unable  to  answer,  because  I  never  entered  upon  a  discus- 
sion upon  this  point  with  him.  But  this  I  can  venture  to 
advance  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of  him,  that  there  are 
few  men  to  be  found,  of  his  age,  who  have  a  more  general 
knowledge  than  he  possesses ;  and  none,  whose  soul  is 
more  firmly  engaged  in  the  cause,  or  who  exceeds  him  in 
probity  and  sterling  virtue."* 

Although  the  greater  number  of  the  members  of  con- 
gress had  assembled  at  the  opening  of  the  session  on  the 

*  Sullivan  replied :  "  I  am  glad  to  find  that  you  entertain  the  same  senti. 
ments  of  the  virtues  and  abilities  of  Colonel  Hamilton  as  I  have  ever  done 
myself.  After  I  wrote,  I  found  the  eyes  of  congress  turned  upon  Robert 

3 


18  THE    LIFE    OF 

fourth  of  November,*  yet,  with  the  exception  of  the  discus- 
sion of  a  proposition  to  quiet  the  long-pending  controversy 
between  New- York  and  Vermont,  no  topic  of  permanent 
interest  occupied  their  deliberations  until  after  the  arrival 
of  Hamilton,  who  took  his  seat  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  that 
month. 

During  the  following  week,  having  in  view  an  efficient 
system  of  finance,  he  is  seen  uniting  in  a  motion  to  post- 
pone a  proposed  provision  for  certain  temporary  corps  of 
the  army ;  recommending  as  chairman  of  the  army  commit- 
tee, in  order  to  reduce  the  expenditure,  the  substitution  of 
a  specified  allowance  in  money  for  the  stipulated  rations ; 
and  reporting  a  resolution  dissuading  any  relief  to  the 
foreign  officers  then  in  the  service,  (a  class  of  meritorious 
individuals,  whose  situation  he  declared  involved  a  pecu- 
liar hardship,  and  required,  if  possible,  some  discrimination 
in  their  favour,)  lest,  in  the  embarrassed  state  of  the  finan- 
ces, it  might  derange  the  general  plans  of  the  superintendent 
of  finance,  to  whose  discretion  they  were  referred. 

Memorials  from  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
had  been  laid  before  congress,  but  had  not  been  acted 
upon,  presented  to  them  a  subject  of  great  delicacy  and 
magnitude. 

That  state  had  late  in  the  preceding  summerf  complained, 
as  a  serious  grievance,  of  the  inability  of  its  citizens  to 
settle  their  accounts  with  the  United  States,  of  the  non- 
payment of  the  debts  due  to  them  by  the  public,  and  of 
the  suspension  of  the  interest  on  certain  classes  of  certifi- 
cates. Expressing  an  apprehension  that  this  suspension 
would  be  extended  farther,  she  represented  that  other 
states  were  making  provision  for  the  liquidation  and  pay- 
ment of  the  debts  due  to  their  citizens  ;  that  the  collection 

Morris  as  financier ;  I  did  not  therefore  nominate  Colonel  Hamilton,  as  I 
foresaw  it  would  be  a  vain  attempt." 
*  1782.  t  August  28, 1782. 


HAMILTON.  19 

of  taxes  was  impeded ;  and  urged  that  a  general  plan 
should  be  devised  for  settling  the  unliquidated  debts  of  the 
United  States,  for  paying  them  or  a  part  of  them,  and 
also  for  the  regular  and  punctual  discharge  of  the  interest 
on  all  the  public  debts,  until  the  principal  should  be  finally 
discharged.  These  views  were  again  enforced  upon  con- 
gress in  a  recent  memorial.* 

The  whole  extent  of  the  contributions  of  the  confeder- 
acy during  the  past  year,  to  a  requisition  for  eight  millions 
of  dollars,  had  little  exceeded  four  hundred  thousand,  while 
the  foreign  loans  had  yielded  less  than  a  million;  with 
which  sums  the  government  had  been  carried  on. 

To  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  public  creditors  in  this 
state  of  the  finances,  was  evidently  impracticable  ;  yet  how 
to  refuse  without  offending  this  central  state,  conspicuous 
for  its  liberal  policy  throughout  the  war,  and  which  num- 
bered among  its  claimants  many  of  those  who  had  most 
largely  contributed  to  the  relief  of  the  treasury,  was  a  con- 
sideration of  the  highest  moment.  To  assuage  its  growing 
irritation,  and  by  a  frank  exposition  of  their  true  situation, 
while  congress  showed  its  inability  to  fulfil  their  engage- 
ments, to  endeavour  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  ultimate 
discharge  of  the  debt,  was  a  course  dictated  by  integrity 
and  policy. 

With  this  view,  Hamilton,  on  the  fourth  of  December, 
moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  conference  with 
her  legislature. 

The  demands  of  Pennsylvania  had  assumed  a  serious 
character.  The  alternative  was  presented  to  congress, 
either  to  make  a  substantial  provision  for  her  claims,  or, 
without  the  power  of  coercion,  to  behold  her  appropria- 
ting all  her  own  resources  to  discharge  the  debts  due  by 
the  confederation  to  her  own  citizens. 

*  November  12. 


20  THELIFEOF 

But  still  more  cogent  motives  now  arose  to  prompt  effi- 
cient measures  of  finance.  The  progress  of  the  negotia- 
tions had  induced  a  general  expectation  of  peace,  which 
was  confirmed  by  the  movement  of  the  French  auxiliaries 
to  Boston,  to  embark  for  the  West  Indies. 

As  the  probability  of  a  treaty  being  concluded  increased, 
the  reduction  of  the  army  became  a  topic  of  universal 
discussion. 

After  their  great  and  long  privations,  the  army  under 
any  other  circumstances  would  have  looked  to  this  event 
with  intense  gratification ;  for,  unlike  the  soldiers  of  more 
populous  regions,  they  had  relinquished  avocations  which 
yielded  them  an  ample  competence,  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  sacrifices  they  were  about  to  make. 

But  their  return  to  private  life  was  now  clouded  with 
the  most  desolate  and  appalling  prospects.  Loaded  with 
debts  incurred  for  their  subsistence,  their  youth  gone  by, 
many  with  families  worn  down  by  poverty — these  vete- 
rans saw  in  their  expected  disbandment,  the  moment  wrhen 
they  were  to  be  turned  in  penury  upon  the  world,  deprived 
of  their  just  dues,  and  without  any  provision  for  their  half- 
pay,  by  the  assurance  of  which  the  officers  had  been  en- 
couraged to  continue  in  the  service,  and  to  which  they 
looked  as  their  chief  resource  in  the  closing  scenes  of 
life. 

Influenced  by  a  sense  of  their  wrongs,  their  murmurs 
increased,  and  in  no  bosom  did  they  excite  stronger  sym- 
pathy than  in  that  of  their  fellow-soldier  and  friend. 

With  such  urgent  motives  for  an  early  action  upon  this 
subject,  Hamilton,  two  days  after,*  moved  a  resolution  di- 
recting the  superintendent  of  finance  to  represent  to  the 
states  the  indispensable  necessity  of  their  complying  with 
the  requisition  for  raising  a  sum  equal  to  a  year's  interest 

*  December  6. 


HAMILTON.  21 

of  the  domestic  debt,  and  two  millions  for  the  current 
service ;  and  to  point  out  the  embarrassments  which 
resulted  from  appropriations  by  the  states  of  the  moneys 
required  by  congress,  "  assuring  them  that  they  were  deter- 
mined to  make  the  fullest  justice  to  the  public  creditors  an 
invariable  object  of  their  counsels  and  exertions." 

His  resolution  embraced  the  appointment  of  a  deputa- 
tion to  Rhode  Island,  to  urge  the  grant  of  the  impost  "  as 
a  measure  essential  to  the  safety  and  reputation  of  these 
states ;"  and  with  a  view  to  carry  it  immediately  into  effect,* 
he  brought  forward  the  draft  of  an  ordinance  for  its  col- 
lection. 

The  deputation  to  Rhode  Island  was  appointed,  its  dele- 
gates alone  dissenting,  and  the  following  letter,  prepared 
by  Hamilton,  was  addressed  to  the  governor  of  that  state.f 

"  SIR, 

"  Congress  are  equally  affected  and  alarmed  by  the  infor- 
mation they  have  received,  that  the  legislature  of  your 
state  at  their  last  meeting  have  refused  their  concurrence 
in  establishing  a  duty  on  imports.  They  consider  this 
measure  as  so  indispensable  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war, 
that  a  sense  of  duty  and  regard  to  the  common  safety, 
compel  them  to  renew  their  efforts  to  engage  a  compliance 
with  it ;  and  in  this  view  they  have  determined  to  send  a 
deputation  of  three  of  their  members  to  your  state,  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  enclosed  resolution.  The  gentlemen  they 
have  appointed  will  be  able  to  lay  before  you  a  full  and 
just  representation  of  public  affairs,  from  which  they  flat- 
ter themselves  will  result  a  conviction  of  the  propriety  of 
their  solicitude  upon  the  present  occasion.  Convinced  by 
past  experience  of  the  zeal  and  patriotism  of  the  state  of 
Rhode  Island,  they  cannot  doubt  that  it  will  yield  to  those 

*  December  10.  t  December  11. 


22  THELIFEOF 

urgent  considerations  which  flow  from  a  knowledge  of  our 
true  situation. 

"  They  will  only  briefly  observe,  that  the  increasing  dis- 
contents of  the  army,  the  loud  clamours  of  the  public  cred- 
itors, and  the  extreme  disproportion  between  the  public 
supplies  and  the  demands  of  the  public  service,  are  so 
many  invincible  arguments  for  the  fund  recommended  by 
congress.  They  feel  themselves  unable  to  devise  any 
other,  that  will  be  more  efficacious,  less  exceptionable,  or 
more  generally  agreeable  ;  and  if  this  is  refused,  they  an- 
ticipate calamities  of  a  most  menacing  nature — with  this 
consolation,  however,  that  they  have  faithfully  discharged 
their  trust,  and  that  the  mischiefs  which  may  follow  cannot 
be  attributed  to  them. 

"  A  principal  object  of  the  proposed  fund  is  to  procure 
loans  abroad.  If  no  security  can  be  held  out  to  lenders, 
the  success  of  these  must  necessarily  be  very  limited. 
The  last  accounts  on  the  subject  were  not  flattering ;  and 
when  intelligence  shall  arrive  in  Europe,  that  the  state  of 
Rhode  Island  has  disagreed  to  the  only  fund  which  has  yet 
been  devised,  there  is  every  reason  to  apprehend  it  will 
have  a  fatal  influence  upon  their  future  progress. 

"  Deprived  of  this  resource,  our  affairs  must  in  all  proba- 
bility rapidly  hasten  to  a  dangerous  crisis,  and  these  states 
be  involved  in  greater  embarrassments  than  they  have  yet 
experienced,  and  from  which  it  may  be  much  more  difficult 
to  emerge.  Congress  will  only  add  a  request  to  your  excel- 
lency, that  if  the  legislature  should  not  be  sitting,  it  may 
be  called  together  as  speedily  as  possible,  to  enable  the 
gentlemen  whom  they  have  deputed,  to  perform  the  pur- 
pose of  their  mission." 

A  similar  appeal  had  been  made  the  previous  summer 
to  which  formal  objections  were  interposed. 

The  next  day  the  delegates  from  that  state  laid  before 


HAMILTON.  23 

congress  a  letter  from  the  speaker  of  its  lower  house. 
This  letter  stated  that  the  recommendation  of  congress 
nad  been  unanimously  rejected,  and  gave  the  grounds  of 
that  rejection.  Upon  the  basis  of  this  procedure,  the 
Rhode  Island  delegates  moved  that  the  resolve  appointing 
a  deputation  to  it,  should  be  rescinded.  At  the  instance 
of  Hamilton,  the  previous  question  was  carried  ;  and  four 
days  after,  he  laid  before  congress  an  address  to  that 
state,  prepared  in  answer  to  the  speaker's  letter 

This  paper  is  of  great  importance,  as  the  earliest  public 
document  in  which  the  policy  of  a  national  revenue  is  dis- 
cussed in  the  spirit  of  a  statesman,  and  will  be  perused 
with  deep  interest,  as  an  exposition  of  the  views  Hamilton 
had  long  entertained  on  some  of  the  great  questions  upon 
which  he  was  subsequently  called  to  act. 

The  objections  of  Rhode  Island  were  answered  in  suc- 
cession.* The  first  of  these  alleged  its  inequality,  as 
"  bearing  hardest  upon  the  commercial  states."  It  was 
met  by  a  statement  of  the  general  principle,  that  "  every 
duty  on  imports  is  incorporated  in  the  price  of  the  com- 
modity, and  ultimately  paid  by  the  consumer,  with  a  profit 
on  the  duty  as  a  compensation"  for  the  advance  by  the 
merchant.  An  overstocked  market,  and  competition 
among  the  sellers,  might  prevent  this ;  but  in  the  general 
course  of  trade,  the  demand  for  consumption  preponder- 
ates. 

Every  class  of  the  community  bears  its  share  of  the 
duty  in  proportion  to  the  consumption,  which  is  regulated 
by  its  comparative  wealth.  "  A  chief  excellence,"  he  ob- 
served, "  of  this  mode  of  revenue  is,  that  it  preserves  a  just 
measure  to  the  abilities  of  individuals,  promotes  frugality, 
and  taxes  extravagance."  The  same  reasoning  applies  to 
the  intercourse  between  two  states ;  either  will  only  feel 

»  4  J.  C.  198. 


24 

the  burden  in  the  ratio  to  its  consumption  and  wealth. 
The  impost,  instead  of  bearing  hardest  on  the  most  com- 
mercial states,  will  rather  have  a  contrary  effect,  though 
not  in  a  sufficient  degree  to  justify  an  objection  on  the 
part  of  the  non-importing  states.  But  "  overnice  and  mi- 
nute calculations  in  matters  of  this  nature,  are  inconsistent 
with  national  measures ;  and,  in  the  imperfect  state  of  hu- 
man affairs,  would  stagnate  all  the  operations  of  govern- 
ment. Absolute  equality  is  not  to  be  attained  ;  to  aim  at 
it,  is  pursuing  a  shadow  at  the  expense  of  the  substance ; 
and  in  the  event,  we  should  find  ourselves  wider  of  the 
mark,  than  if,  in  the  first  instance,  we  were  content  to  ap- 
proach it  with  moderation." 

The  second  objection,  "  that  the  impost  would  introduce 
into  the  states  officers  unknown  and  unaccountable  to  them, 
and  was  thus  contrary  to  the  constitution  of  the  state,"  was 
replied  to  at  length. 

"  It  is  not  to  be  presumed,"  Hamilton  remarked,  "  that 
the  constitution  of  any  state  could  mean  to  define  and  fix 
the  precise  numbers  and  descriptions  of  all  officers  to  be 
permitted  in  the  state,  excluding  the  creation  of  any  new 
ones,  whatever  might  be  the  necessity  derived  from  that 
variety  of  circumstances  incident  to  all  political  institu- 
tions. The  legislature  must  always  have  a  discretionary 
power  of  appointing  officers,  not  expressly  known  to  the 
constitution ;  and  this  power  will  include  that  of  authori- 
zing the  federal  government  to  make  the  appointments  in 
cases  where  the  general  welfare  may  require  it.  The  de- 
nial of  this  would  prove  too  much  ;  to  wit,  that  the  power 
given  by  the  confederation  to  congress,  to  appoint  all 
officers  in  the  post-office,  was  illegal  and  unconstitutional. 

"  The  doctrine  advanced  by  Rhode  Island  would  perhaps 
prove  also  that  the  federal  government  ought  to  have  the 
appointment  of  no  internal  officers  whatever ;  a  position 
that  would  defeat  all  the  provisions  of  the  confederation, 


HAMILTON.  25 

and  all  the  purposes  of  the  union.  The  truth  is,  that  no 
federal  constitution  can  exist  without  powers  that  in  their 
exercise  affect  the  internal  police  of  the  component  mem- 
bers. It  is  equally  true,  that  no  government  can  exist 
without  a  right  to  appoint  officers  for  those  purposes  which 
proceed  from,  and  concentre  in,  itself;  and  therefore  the 
confederation  has  expressly  declared,  that  congress  shall 
have  authority  to  appoint  all  such  '  civil  officers  as  may  be 
necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the  United 
States  under  their  direction.'  All  that  can  be  required  is, 
that  the  federal  government  confine  its  appointments  to 
such  as  it  is  empowered  to  make  by  the  original  act  of 
union  or  by  the  subsequent  consent  of  the  parties ;  unless 
there  should  be  express  words  of  exclusion  in  the  consti- 
tution of  a  state,  there  can  be  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it 
is  within  the  compass  of  legislative  discretion  to  commu- 
nicate that  authority.  The  propriety  of  doing  it  upon  the 
present  occasion  is  founded  on  substantial  reasons. 

"  The  measure  proposed  is  a  measure  of  necessity.  Re- 
peated experiments  have  shown,  that  the  revenue  to  be 
raised  within  these  states  is  altogether  inadequate  to  the 
public  wants.  The  deficiency  can  only  be  supplied  by 
loans.  Our  applications  to  the  foreign  powers  on  whose 
friendship  we  depend,  have  had  a  success  far  short  of  our 
necessities.  The  next  resource  is,  to  borrow  from  indivi- 
duals. These  will  neither  be  actuated  by  generosity  nor 
reasons  of  state.  'Tis  to  their  interest  alone  we  must  ap- 
peal. To  conciliate  this,  we  must  not  only  stipulate  a 
proper  compensation  for  what  they  lend,  but  we  must  give 
security  for  the  performance.  We  must  pledge  an  ascer-- 
tained  fund,  simple  and  productive  in  its  nature,  general 
in  its  principle,  and  at  the  disposal  of  a  single  will.  There 
can  be  little  confidence  in  a  security  under  the  constant 
revisal  of  thirteen  different  deliberatives.  It  must,  once 
for  all,  be  defined  and  established  on  the  faith  of  the  states, 

4 


26  THE    LIFE    OP 

solemnly  pledged  to  each  other,  and  not  revocable  by  any 
without  a  breach  of  the  general  compact.  Tis  by  such 
expedients  that  nations  whose  resources  are  understood, 
whose  reputations  and  governments  are  erected  on  the 
foundation  of  ages,  are  enabled  to  obtain  a  solid  and  ex- 
tensive credit.  Would  it  be  reasonable  in  us  to  hope  for 
more  easy  terms,  who  have  so  recently  assumed  our  rank 
among  the  nations  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  expected,  that  indivi- 
duals will  be  cautious  in  lending  their  money  to  a  people 
in  our  circumstances,  and*  that  they  will  at  least  require 
the  best  security  we  can  give  ?" 

Having  adverted  to  the  peculiar  motives  to  remove  the 
existing  prepossessions  unfavourable  to  the  public  credit, 
by  means  the  most  obvious  and  striking,  he  observed  : — 

"It  was  with  these  views  congress  determined  on  a 
general  fund ;  and  the  one  they  have  recommended  must, 
upon  a  thorough  examination,  appear  to  have  fewer  incon- 
veniences than  any  other. 

"  It  has  been  remarked,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  plan, 
that  the  fund  should  depend  on  a  single  will.  This  will 
not  be  the  case,  unless  the  collection,  as  well  as  the  appro- 
priation, is  under  the  control  of  the  United  States ;  for  it 
is  evident  that,  after  the  duty  is  agreed  upon,  it  may  in  a 
great  measure  be  defeated  by  an  ineffectual  mode  of  levy- 
ing it.  The  United  States  have  a  common  interest  in  a 
uniform  and  equally  energetic  collection ;  and  not  only 
policy,  but  justice  to  all  the  parts  of  the  Union,  designates 
the  utility  of  lodging  the  power  of  making  it  where  the 
interest  is  common.  Without  this,  it  might  in  reality  ope- 
rate as  a  very  unequal  tax" 

The  third  objection  was,  "  That  by  granting  to  congress 
a  power  to  collect  moneys  from  the  commerce  of  these 
states  indefinitely  as  to  time  and  quantity,  and  for  the  ex- 
penditure of  which  they  are  not  to  be  accountable  to  the 
states,  they  would  become  independent  of  their  constitu- 


HAMILTON.  27 

ents ;  and  so  the  proposed  impost  is  repugnant  to  the  liberty 
of  the  United  States." 

"  Admitting  the  principle  of  this  objection  to  be  true,  still 
it  ought  to  have  no  weight  in  the  present  case,  because 
there  is  no  analogy  between  the  principle  and  the  fact. 

"  First — The  fund  proposed  is  sufficiently  definite  as  to 
time,  because  it  is  only  coextensive  with  the  existence  of 
the  debt  contracted,  and  to  be  contracted  in  the  course  of 
the  war.  Congress  are  persuaded  that  it  is  as  remote  from 
the  intention  of  their  constituents  to  perpetuate  that  debt, 
as  to  extinguish  it  at  once  by  a  faithless  neglect  of  pro- 
viding the  means  to  fulfil  the  public  engagements.  Their 
ability  to  discharge  it  in  a  moderate  time,  can  as  little  be 
doubted  as  their  inclination;  and  the  moment  that  debt 
ceases,  the  duty,  so  far  as  respects  the  present  provision, 
ceases  with  it. 

"  The  resolution  recommending  the  duty,  specifies  the 
object  of  it  to  be  the  discharge  of  the  principal  and  interest 
of  the  debts  already  contracted  on  the  faith  of  the  United 
States  for  supporting  the  present  war. 

"  Secondly — The  rate  per  cent,  is  fixed,  and  it  is  not  at 
the  option  of  the  United  States  to  increase  it.  Though 
the  product  will  vary  according  to  the  variations  in  trade, 
yet,  as  there  is  this  limitation  of  the  rate,  it  cannot  be  pro- 
perly said  to  be  indefinite  as  to  quantity. 

"  By  the  confederation,  congress  have  an  absolute  discre- 
tion in  determining  the  quantum  of  revenue  requisite  for 
the  national  expenditure.  When  this  is  done,  nothing  re- 
mains for  the  states  separately  but  the  mode  of  raising.  No 
state  can  dispute  the  obligation  to  pay  the  sum  demanded, 
without  a  breach  of  the  confederation ;  and  when  the 
money  comes  into  the  treasury,  the  appropriation  is  the 
exclusive  province  of  the  federal  government.  This  pro- 
vision of  the  confederation,  (without  which  it  would  be  an 
empty  form,)  comprehends  in  it  the  principle  in  its  fullest 


28  THELIFEOF 

latitude,  which  the  objection  under  consideration  treats  as 
repugnant  to  the  liberty  of  the  United  States ;  to  wit,  an 
indefinite  power  of  prescribing  the  quantity  of  money  to 
be  raised,  and  of  appropriating  it  when  raised. 

"  If  it  be  said  that  the  states,  individually,  having  the  col- 
lection in  their  own  hands,  may  refuse  a  compliance  with 
exorbitant  demands,  the  confederation  will  answer,  that 
this  is  a  point  of  which  they  have  no  constitutional  liberty 
to  judge.  Such  a  refusal  would  be  an  exertion  of  power, 
not  of  right ;  and  the  same  power  which  could  disregard 
a  requisition  made  on  the  authority  of  the  confederation, 
might  at  any  time  arrest  the  collection  of  the  duty. 

"  The  same  kind  of  responsibility  which  exists  with  re- 
spect to  the  expenditure  of  the  money  furnished  in  the 
forms  hitherto  practised,  would  be  equally  applicable  to 
the  revenue  from  the  imports. 

"  The  truth  is,  the  security  intended  to  the  general  liberty 
in  the  confederation,  consists  in  the  frequent  election  and 
in  the  rotation  of  the  members  of  congress,  by  which  there 
is  a  constant  and  an  effectual  check  upon  them.  This  is 
the  security  which  the  people  in  every  state  enjoy  against 
the  usurpations  of  their  internal  governments ;  and  it  is 
the  true  source  of  security  in  a  representative  republic. 
The  government  so  constituted,  ought  to  have  the  means 
necessary  to  answer  the  end  of  its  institution.  By  weak- 
ening its  hands  too  much,  it  may  be  rendered  incapable  of 
providing  for  the  interior  harmony  or  the  exterior  defence 
of  the  state. 

"  The  measure  in  question,  if  not  within  the  letter,  is 
within  the  spirit  of  the  confederation.  Congress  by  that 
are  empowered  to  borrow  money  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States,  and,  by  implication,  to  concert  the  means  necessary 
to  accomplish  the  end.  But  without  insisting  on  this  ar- 
gument, if  the  confederation  has  not  made  proper  provi- 
sion for  the  exigencies  of  the  states,  it  will  be  at  all  times 


HAMILTON.  29 

the  duty  of  congress  to  suggest  further  provisions ;  and 
when  their  proposals  are  submitted  to  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  states,  they  can  never  be  charged  with  exceed- 
ing the  bounds  of  their  trust.  Such  a  consent  is  the  basis 

o 

and  sanction  of  the  confederation,  which  expressly,  in  the 
thirteenth  article,  empowers  congress  to  agree  to  and  pre- 
pare such  additional  provision. 

"  The  remarks  hitherto  made,  have  had  reference  princi- 
pally to  the  future  prosecution  of  the  war.  There  still 
remains  an  interesting  light  in  which  the  subject  ought  to 
be  viewed. 

"  The  United  States  have  already  contracted  a  debt  in 
Europe  and  in  this  country,  for  which  their  faith  is  pledged. 
The  capital  of  this  debt  can  only  be  discharged  by  de- 
grees; but  a  fund  for  this  purpose,  and  for  paying  the 
interest  annually,  on  every  principle  of  policy  and  justice, 
ought  to  be  provided.  The  omission  will  be  the  deepest 
ingratitude  and  cruelty  to  a  large  number  of  meritorious 
individuals,  who,  in  the  most  critical  periods  of  the  war, 
have  adventured  their  fortunes  in  support  of  our  indepen- 
dence. It  would  stamp  the  national  character  with  indeli- 
ble disgrace. 

"  An  annual  provision  for  the  purpose  will  be  too  preca- 
rious. If  its  continuance  and  application  were  certain,  it 
would  not  afford  complete  relief.  With  many,  the  regular 
payment  of  interest,  by  occasional  grants,  would  suffice ; 
but  with  many  more  it  would  not.  These  want  the  use 
of  the  principal  itself,  and  they  have  a  right  to  it ;  but 
since  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  pay  off  the  principal,  the 
next  expedient  is  to  fund  the  debt,  and  render  the  evidences 
of  it  negotiable. 

"  Besides  the  advantage  to  individuals  from  this  arrange- 
ment, the  active  stock  of  the  nation  would  be  increased  by 
the  whole  amount  of  the  domestic  debt,  and  of  course,  the 
abilities  of  the  community  to  contribute  to  the  public 


30  THELIFEOF 

wants ;  the  national  credit  would  receive  and  stand  here- 
after on  a  secure  basis." 

This  was  another  object  of  the  proposed  duty. 

The  eligibility  of  this  fund  was  next  shown.  "The 
principal  thing,"  he  said,  "to  be  consulted  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  commerce,  is  to  promote  exports ;  all  im- 
pediments to  these,  either  by  way  of  prohibition  or  by 
increasing  the  prices  of  native  commodities,  decreasing  by 
that  means  their  sale  and  consumption  at  foreign  markets, 
are  injurious.  Duties  on  exports  have  this  operation. 
For  the  same  reasons,  taxes  on  possessions  and  the  articles 
of  our  own  growth  and  manufacture,  whether  in  the  form 
of  a  land  tax,  excise,  or  any  other,  are  more  hurtful  to  trade 
than  import  duties.  But  it  was  not  to  be  inferred  that  the 
whole  revenue  ought  to  be  drawn  from  imports ;  all  ex- 
tremes are  to  be  rejected.  The  chief  thing  to  be  attended 
to  is,  that  the  weight  of  the  taxes  fall  not  too  heavily  in  the 
first  instance  upon  particular  parts  of  the  community :  a 
judicious  distribution  to  all  kinds  of  taxable  property,  is  a 
first  principle  in  taxation." 

The  report  closed  with  these  impressive  reflections,  sug- 
gested by  the  language  of  Rhode  Island : — 

"  There  is  a  happy  mean  between  too  much  confidence 
and  excessive  jealousy,  in  which  the  health  and  prosperity 
of  a  state  consist.  Either  extreme  is  a  dangerous  vice  : 
the  first  is  a  temptation  to  men  in  power  to  arrogate  more 
than  they  have  a  right  to  ;  the  latter  enervates  govern- 
ment, prevents  system  in  the  administration,  defeats  the 
most  salutary  measures,  breeds  confusion  in  the  state,  dis- 
gusts and  discontents  among  the  people,  and  may  event- 
ually prove  as  fatal  to  liberty  as  the  opposite  temper. 

"  It  is  certainly  pernicious  to  leave  any  government  in  a 
situation  of  responsibility  disproportionate  to  its  power. 
The  conduct  of  the  war  is  intrusted  to  congress,  and  the 
public  expectation  turned  upon  them,  without  any  compe- 


HAMILTON.  31 

tent  means  at  their  command  to  satisfy  the  important 
trust.  After  the  most  full  and  solemn  deliberation,  under 
a  collective  view  of  all  the  public  difficulties,  they  recom- 
mend a  measure  which  appears  to  them  the  corner-stone 
of  the  public  safety  ;  they  see  this  measure  suspended  for 
near  two  years — partially  complied  with  by  some  of  the 
states,  rejected  by  one  of  them,  and  in  danger  on  that  ac- 
count to  be  frustrated  ;  the  public  embarrassments  every 
day  increasing ;  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  army  growing 
more  serious,  the  other  creditors  of  the  public  clamoring 
for  justice — both,  irritated  by  the  delay  of  measures  for 
their  present  relief  or  future  security ;  the  hopes  of  our 
enemies  encouraged  to  protract  the  war — the  zeal  of  our 
friends  depressed  by  an  appearance  of  remissness  and  want 
of  exertion  on  our  part — congress  harassed,  the  national 
character  suffering,  and  the  national  safety  at  the  mercy 
of  events." 

Resolutions  were  appended  to  this  report  giving  the 
first  public  pledge  of  a  determination  to  establish  a  SINK- 
ING FUND.* 

On  the  following  day,  in  pursuance  of  another  report 
from  Hamilton,  the  deputation  from  Rhode  Island  was 
directed  to  proceed  as  soon  as  possible. 

While  these  efforts  were  made,  a  publication  appeared 

*  Dec.  16th. — Whereas  it  is  essential  to  justice  and  to  the  preservation  of 
public  credit,  that  whenever  a  nation  is  obliged  by  the  exigencies  of  public 
affairs  to  contract  a  debt,  proper  funds  should  be  established,  not  only  for 
paying  the  annual  value  or  interest  of  the  same,  but  for  discharging  the 
principal  within  a  reasonable  period,  by  which  a  nation  may  avoid  the  evils 
of  an  excessive  accumulation  of  debt.  Therefore  resolved,  That  whenever 
the  nett  produce  of  any  funds  recommended  by  congress  and  granted  by  the 
states,  for  funding  the  debt  already  contracted,  or  for  procuring  further  loans 
for  the  support  of  the  war,  shall  exceed  the  sum  requisite  for  paying  the  in- 
terest  of  the  whole  amount  of  the  national  debt  which  these  states  may  owe 
at  the  termination  of  the  present  war,  the  surplus  of  such  grants  shall  form 
a  sinking  fund,  to  be  inviolably  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  the  principal 
of  the  said  debt,  and  shall  on  no  account  be  diverted  to  any  other  purpose. — 


32  THELIPEOF 

in  a  Boston  gazette,  which  gave  a  false  view  of  the  state 
of  the  negotiations  for  foreign  loans,  and  intimated  that 
the  danger  to  be  apprehended  was  not  embarrassment  for 
want  of  funds,  but  from  contracting  too  large  a  debt. 
This  misrepresentation  tended  to  impede  all  the  exertions 
to  obtain  a  grant  of  permanent  funds.  After  some  in- 
quiry, Howell,  a  member  from  Rhode  Island,  avowed 
himself  the  author  of  it,  and  made  a  motion  braving  the 
opinion  of  congress,  which  was  entered  upon  the  journal. 

Aware  of  the  importance  of  an  official  declaration  of  its 
falsity,  Hamilton  offered  a  resolution,  which  was  seconded 
by  Carroll,  that  congress  having,  in  respect  to  the  articles 
of  the  confederation,  admitted  on  its  journals  an  entry  of  a 
motion  of  Mr.  Howell  highly  derogatory  to  the  dignity 
and  honour  of  the  United  States,  that  a  committee  should 
be  appointed  to  report  the  measures  respecting  it.  They 
reported  that  a  true  state  of  the  negotiations  should  be 
transmitted  to  the  governor  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  preceding  address  to  that  state,  shows  Hamilton's 
purpose  to  endeavour  to  establish  an  adequate  and  compre- 
hensive system  of  finance.  This  would  have  provided  for 
the  state  emissions,  and  state  debts  incurred  for  the  com- 
mon defence.  An  estimate  which  he  had  submitted  to  the 
superintendent  of  finance,  showed  that  the  probable  re- 
ceipts from  the  impost  would  be  insufficient.  It  was 
necessary  to  increase  the  revenue ;  but  before  the  assent 
of  the  states  could  be  obtained  to  this  increase,  discontents 

And  in  order  that  the  several  states  may  have  proper  information  of  the  state 
of  their  finances,  it  is  further  resolved,  That  as  soon  as  the  public  debt  can 
be  liquidated,  each  state  be  annually  furnished  with  the  amount  thereof,  and 
of  the  interest  thereon  ;  and  also  of  the  proceeds  and  disposition  of  the  funds 
provided  for  the  redemption  thereof.  That  the  faith  of  the  United  States 
be  pledged  for  the  observance  of  the  foregoing  resolution,  and  that  if  any 
state  shall  think  it  necessary  to  make  it  a  condition  of  their  grants,  the  same 
will  be  considered  by  congress  as  consistent  with  their  resolution  of  the  3d 
of  February,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one. 


HAMILTON.  33 

which  existed  as  to  late  requisitions  were  to  be  removed. 
With  these  views,  he  moved  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee to  report  what  further  provision  should  be  made 
"  for  discharging  the  interest  on  the  loan-office  certificates 
and  other  liquidated  debts,  and  to  revise  the  requisitions 
of  the  preceding  and  present  year,  and  to  report  whether 
the  same  ought  to  be  continued  or  altered." 

The  principal  cause  of  the  frequent  collisions  between 
the  states  as  to  the  apportionment  of  the  public  burdens, 
proceeded  from  the  failure  to  carry  into  effect  the  rule  of 
the  confederation  as  to  the  ratio  of  contribution.  That 
rule  contemplated  an  actual  specific  valuation  of  the  lands 
in  each  state  granted  and  surveyed,  with  the  buildings 
and  improvements.  Objectionable  as  the  rule  was,  the 
federal  articles  had  prescribed  it.  Feeling  the  obligation 
of  an  effort  to  act  upon  it,  Hamilton,  on  the  sixth  of 
January,  offered  a  resolution  in  "  order  to  enable  congress 
to  form  an  eventual  plan  towards  carrying  into  execu- 
tion" this  article  of  the  confederation.  His  view  was,  that 
this  valuation  should  be  made  by  commissioners  appointed 
by  and  acting  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States 
upon  uniform  principles.  This  resolution,  together  with 
those  of  the  sixteenth  of  December,  was  referred  to  a 
committee  composed  of  a  member  from  each  state. 

The  following  day  the  house  took  up  another  subject 
connected  with  the  fulfilment  of  the  public  faith.  The 
large  amount  of  old  continental  bills  held  in  the  New- 
England  states,  they  having  furnished  the  principal  sup- 
plies, created  a  strong  interest  in  that  part  of  the  union 
that  some  provision  should  be  made  for  their  redemption. 
A  memorial  having  this  object  had  been  presented  to 
the  previous  congress,  which  was  referred  to  a  grand 
committee  of  that  body.  This  committee  reported  that 
specie  certificates  should  be  issued  for  these  bills  when 
paid  into  the  hands  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to 

5 


34  THELIFEOF 

settle  the  accounts  of  the  several  states,  and  of  individuals 
thereof,  to  bear  an  interest  of  six  per  cent,  from  their 
date,  and  to  be  provided  for  as  other  debts,  if  brought  in 
prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-three.  It  also  proposed  that  the  states  which  had  not 
sunk  the  proportions  of  the  continental  money  assigned  to 
them,  be  charged  with  the  deficiency  at  the  prescribed  rate. 
The  rate  was  left  in  blank,  to  be  filled  up  by  the  house. 

The  recent  pledge  introduced  by  Hamilton,  of  a  deter- 
mination to  provide  for  the  whole  debt,  probably  induced 
Massachusetts  to  call  up  this  report,  in  the  hope  that  these 
bills  would  be  embraced  in  such  provision.  Much  opposi- 
tion existed  in  the  southern  states  to  any  redemption  of 
these  emissions. 

When  this  report  was  offered  for  consideration,  North 
Carolina  moved  its  postponement.  This  motion  being 
lost,  a  proposition  was  offered,  that  it  be  recommended  to 
the  several  states  to  redeem  their  quotas  of  the  old  bills 
upon  principles  consonant  "with  the  most  substantial 
justice."  This  proposition  also  failed ;  and  it  being  thus 
admitted,  if  redeemed  at  all,  that  they  were  a  national 
charge,  Hamilton  moved  "  that  the  blank  in  the  report  be 
filled  with  the  word '  forty,' "  the  rate  of  depreciation  con- 
gress had  established,  but  which  composition  he  had  'cen- 
sured as  a  violation  of  the  public  faith.  This  motion  was 
rejected.  A  subsequent  effort  was  made  to  fix  the  ratio 
at  one  for  seventy-five,  which  was  also  rejected,  some 
votes  being  against  it  as  an  inexpedient  departure  from 
the  stipulated  rate ;  others,  because  hostile  to  any  provi- 
sion.* The  effort  to  redeem  them  was  abandoned. 

*  The  following  statement  is  found  in  the  report  of  the  debates  on  this 
subject,  Madison  Papers,  vol.  1,  page  226,  by  James  Madison. 

"  December  7th. — No  congress The  grand  committee  met  again  on  the 

business  of  the  old  paper  emissions,  and  agreed  to  the  plan  reported  by  the 
sub-committee  in  pursuance  of  Mr.  Fitzsimmons's  motion,  viz. :  that  the  out- 


HAMILTON.  35 

While  the  preliminary  measures  of  finance  were  de- 
pending, the  dangers  which  had  been  apprehended  from 
the  discontents  of  the  army  occurred,  and  Hamilton's  ser- 

standing  bills  should  be  taken  up,  and  certificates  issued  in  place  thereof  at 
the  rate  of  one  real  dollar  for nominal  ones,  and  that  the  surpluses  re- 
deemed by  particular  states  should  be  credited  to  them  at  the  same  rate.  Mr. 
Carroll  alone  dissented  to  the  plan,  alleging  that  a  law  of  Maryland  was  ad- 
verse to  it,  which  he  considered  as  equipollent  to  an  instruction.  For  filling 
up  the  blank,  several  rates  were  proposed.  First,  1  for  40 ;  on  which  the 
votes  were,  no ;  except  Mr.  Howell.  Second,  1  for  75,  no ;  Mr.  White  and 
Mr.  Howell,  aye.  Third,  1  for  100,  no  ;  Mr.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Fitzsim- 
mons,  aye.  Fourth,  1  for  150,  no ;  Mr.  Fitzsimmons,  aye.  The  reasons 
urged  in  favour  of  1  for  40,  were — first,  an  adherence  to  public  faith ;  secondly, 
that  the  depreciation  of  the  certificates  would  reduce  the  rate  sufficiently  low, 
they  being  now  negotiated  at  the  rate  of  3  or  4  for  1.  The  reason  for  1  for 
75,  was,  that  the  bills  passed  at  that  rate  when  they  were  called  in,  in  the 
eastern  states  ;  for  1  for  100,  that  as  popular  ideas  were  opposed  to  the  stipu- 
lated rate,  and  as  adopting  the  current  rate  might  hurt  the  credit  of  other 
securities,  which  derived  their  value  from  an  opinion  that  they  would  be 
strictly  redeemed,  it  was  best  to  take  an  arbitrary  rate,  leaning  to  the  side 
of  liberality ;  for  1  for  150,  that  this  was  the  medium  depreciation  when  the 
circulation  ceased.  The  opposition  to  these  several  rates  came  from  the  south- 
ern delegates,  in  some  of  whose  states  none,  in  others  but  little,  had  been  re- 
deemed, and  in  all  of  which  the  depreciation  had  been  much  greater.  On 
this  side  it  was  observed  by  Mr.  Madison,  that  the  states  which  had  redeemed 
a  surplus,  or  even  their  quotas,  had  not  done  it  within  the  period  fixed  by 
congress,  but  in  the  last  stages  of  depreciation,  and,  in  a  great  degree,  even 
after  the  money  had  ceased  to  circulate ;  that  since  the  supposed  cessa- 
tion, the  money  had  generally  changed  hands  at  a  value  far  below  any  rate 
that  had  been  named ;  that  the  principle  established  by  the  plan  of  the  18th 
of  March,  1780,  with  respect  to  the  money  in  question,  was,  that  the  holder 
of  it  should  receive  the  value  at  which  it  was  current,  and  at  which  it  was 
presumed  he  had  received  it ;  that  a  different  rule  adopted  with  regard  to  the 
same  money  in  different  stages  of  its  downfall,  would  give  general  dissatisfac- 
tion. The  committee  adjourned  without  coming  to  any  decision." 

On  the  18th  March,  1780,  congress  resolved  that  the  bills  in  circulation 
should  be  redeemed  at  the  rate  of  40  for  1  Spanish  milled  dollar.  To  allow  a 
less  equivalent,  was  a  breach  of  the  public  faith.  The  object  of  the  foregoing 
statement  is,  to  represent  Hamilton  as  voting  in  favour  of  this  breach  of  faith  ; 
but  the  statement  is  incorrect  in  all  its  parts. 

The  transaction  is  represented  as  having  occurred  on  the  7th  of  December, 


36  THELIFEOF 

vices  were  placed  in  a  conspicuous  light  by  his  efforts  to 
render  justice  to  his  fellow-soldiers. 

Near  the  close  of  the  preceding  autumn,  the  main  army, 

and  not  on  the  7th  of  January,  the  actual  date  of  the  occurrence  as  appears 
by  the  journals,  vol.  4,  page  141.  To  give  colour  to  this  alteration  of  the  date, 
it  is  represented  as  having  taken  place  in  grand  committee,  and  not  in  the  house. 

That  grand  committee  was  elected  by  the  preceding  congress,*  and  was 
composed  of  Duane,  Dyer,  Fitzsimmons,  Oilman,  Hanson,  Howell,  Jackson, 
Lee,  McKean,  Telfair,  Williamson,  and  Witherspoon.  Hamilton  was  not  a 
member  of  it ;  consequently,  he  could  not  have  given  the  vote  imputed  to 
him  by  Madison,  nor  any  other  vote. 

The  report  of  this  committee  came  before  congress  on  the  7th  January,  the 
amount  in  blank ;  a  motion  was  made  to  postpone  its  consideration.  Hamil- 
ton and  Madison  both  voted  against  the  motion  for  a  postponement,  which 
was  lost.  It  was  then  moved  that  the  several  states  should  redeem  on  prin- 
ciples "  of  the  most  substantial  justice."  Hamilton  and  Madison  both  voted 
against  this  motion.  Hamilton  then  moved  to  fill  up  the  report  with  40  for 
1 — Madison  voted  against  it ;  a  motion  was  then  made  of  75  for  1 — Hamil- 
ton and  Madison  both  against  it.  No  vote  is  given  of  100  or  of  150  for  1, 
as  stated  by  Madison. 

The  purport  of  these  several  votes  was  this.  In  voting  not  to  postpone, 
Hamilton  evinced  his  determination  to  fulfil  a  public  engagement.  In  voting 
not  to  refer  the  provision  to  the  states,  he  voted  from  the  same  motive.  In 
proposing  40  for  1,  he  voted  from  the  same  motive.  In  voting  against  75  for 
1,  he  voted  upon  the  consideration  stated  by  him  in  his  letter  to  Robert 
Morris,  previously  referred  to,  vol.  1,  page  360: — "  I  have  chosen  the  reso- 
lution of  March,  '80,  as  a  standard  ;  we  ought  not  on  any  account  to  raise 
the  value  of  the  old  paper  higher  than  40  to  1,  for  this  will  give  it  about  the 
degree  of  value  that  is  most  salutary,  at  the  same  time  that  it  would  avoid 
a  second  breach  of  faith,  which  would  cause  a  violent  death  to  all  future 
credit."  He  also  voted  on  the  21st  December  previous,  to  certify  certain 
pledges  as  "  debts,  at  1  dollar  in  specie  for  every  40  dollars  of  such  pledges," 
in  which  Madison  concurred. 

Madison  voting  in  the  negative  throughout,  voted  not  to  redeem  the  conti- 
nental paper  at  any  rate  ;  assigning  as  one  reason,  "  that  the  principle  estab- 
lished by  the  plan  of  the  18th  March,  1780,  was,  that  the  holder  should  receive 
the  value  at  which  it  was  current,  and  at  which  it  was  presumed  he  had  re- 
ceived it,  and  that  the  same  principle  ought  to  govern  in  the  different  stages 
of  its  downfall.  This  was  not  the  fact ;  40  for  1,  was  the  stipulated  rate, 
below  which  no  depreciation  was  to  take  place. 
*  4  J.  C.  141. 


HAMILTON.  37 

which  had  previously  been  moved  to  Verplank's  Point, 
took  up  their  winter-quarters  among  the  woody  hills  in 
the  vicinity  of  Newburgh,  a  position  in  every  relation  the 
most  eligible  that  could  have  been  selected.  Their  wants, 
and  the  near  approach  of  peace,  increased  their  anxiety 
for  an  adjustment  of  their  accounts,  and  led  the  officers  to 
look  with  extreme  solicitude  to  the  establishment  of  sub- 
stantial funds,  adequate  to  the  discharge  of  their  half-pay 
as  it  should  become  due. 

Alarmed  by  information  that  there  was  a  large  party 
hostile  to  their  claims,  combinations  among  them  to  resign 
in  a  body,  at  stated  periods,  began  to  be  formed.  But 
they  were  diverted  from  this  purpose,  and  induced  to  pe- 
tition congress. 

In  their  petition  they  stated  that  shadows  had  been 
offered  to  them,  while  the  substance  had  been  gleaned  by 
others  ;  that  they  had  borne  all  that  they  could  bear ;  that 
their  property  was  expended,  their  private  resources  at 
an  end,  and  their  friends  wearied  out  and  disgusted  with 
their  incessant  applications  ;  that  the  soldiers  had  not  re- 
ceived more  than  one-fifth  of  their  rations ;  that  the  ar- 
rearages for  their  clothing  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
seventy-seven,  were  paid  in  continental  money,  when  the 
dollar  was  worth  only  four  pence,  and  that  the  accounts 
for  the  subsequent  years  were  unliquidated.  After  this 

Not  only  is  a  reason  that  did  not  exist  assigned  for  his  own  vote,  but  one 
inconsistent  with  integrity  is  imputed  to  Hamilton  for  a  vote  he  did  not  give. 
Madison  gave  the  vote  Hamilton  refused  to  give.  The  reason  stated  by 
Madison  to  have  been  "  urged  in  favour  of "  40  for  1,  the  rate  Hamilton 
proposed,  was,  "  an  adherence  to  public  faith."  The  reason  imputed  to 
Hamilton  by  Madijon  for  voting  for  100  for  1,  which  Hamilton  did  not  vote 
for,  was,  that  as  popular  ideas  were  opposed  to  the  stipulated  rate,  and  as 
adopting  the  current  rate  might  hurt  the  credit  of  other  securities,  which  de- 
rived their  value  from  an  opinion  that  they  would  be  strictly  redeemed,  it 
was  best  to  take  an  arbitrary  rate  leaning  to  the  side  of  popularity."  What 
must  be  thought  of  such  statements  ? 


• 


38  THELIFEOF 

recapitulation  of  their  wrongs,  having  asked  for  a  supply 
of  money  as  soon  as  possible,  they  urged  an  immediate 
adjustment  of  their  dues ;  that  a  part  should  be  paid,  and 
the  remainder  put  on  such  a  footing  as  would  restore 
cheerfulness  to  the  army,  revive  confidence  in  the  justice 
and  generosity  of  its  constituents,  an,d  contribute  to  the 
very  desirable  effect  of  re-establishing*  public  credit.  Ad- 
verting, in  fine,  to  the  odious  light  in  which  the  persons 
entitled  to  half-pay  were  viewed,  they  proposed,  in  order 
to  prevent  altercations  and  distinctions,  to  commute  the 
half-pay  for  full  pay  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  or  for 
a  sum  in  gross. 

To  attain  these  objects,  they  appointed  General  McDou- 
gal,  Colonels  Brooks  and  Ogden,  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence to  repair  to  Philadelphia.  The  state  of  opinion 
in  congress  was  not  such  as  to  inspire  confidence.  The 
jealous  spirit  which  withheld  from  the  confederation  the 
only  means  of  restoring  the  public  credit,  and  which,  on 
the  return  of  peace,  was  not  unwilling  to  abandon  or  to 
dissolve  the  union,  had  been  strongly  evinced  as  to  the 
claims  of  the  army. 

Aware  of  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered,  it  has  been 
seen  that  Hamilton  had  been  foremost  to  induce  the  refu- 
sal of  all  partial  favours  to  any  particular  body  of  officers, 
had  urged  the  necessity  of  avoiding  discriminations  be- 
tween different  classes  of  creditors,  and  had  succeeded  in 
postponing  various  applications  for  relief,  the  grant  of 
which  must  have  engendered  discontent. 

The  army  memorial  was  referred  to  a  committee  of 
which  he  was  chairman,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  Janua- 
ry a  report  was  made  by  him. 

It  comprehended  five  articles : — Present  pay — a  settle- 
ment of  accounts  of  the  arrearages  of  pay,  and  security 
for  what  was  due — a  commutation  of  the  half-pay  for  an 
equivalent  in  gross — a  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  defi- 


HAMILTON.  39 

ciencies  of  rations  and  compensation,  and  a  similar  settle- 
ment as  to  clothing  and  compensation. 

As  to  the  pay,  this  report  directed  the  superintendent 
of  finance  to  make  the  payment  requested,  as  soon  as  the 
state  of  the  finances  would  permit ;  as  to  the  accounts, 
that  the  states  be  called  upon  to  complete  the  settlements 
with  their  respective  levies  to  the  first  of  August,  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty,*  and  that  settlement  from  that 
period  be  made  at  the  office  of  finance.  As  to  security, 
it  declared  that  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  in  com- 
mon with  all  their  creditors,  have  an  undoubted  right  to 
expect  such  security,  and  that  congress  will  make  every 
effort  in  their  power  to  obtain  from  the  respective 
states  substantial  funds,  adequate  to  the  object  of 
funding  the  whole  debt  of  the  United  States,  and  will 
enter  upon  an  immediate  and  full  consideration  of  the 
nature  of  such  funds,  and  the  most  likely  mode  of  ob- 
taining them. 

The  remaining  articles  were  referred  to  a  sub-committee 
of  which  Hamilton  was  a  member ;  and  after  the  interval 


*  By  resolution  of  12th  August,  1780,  the  states  were  recommended  to 
make  compensation  for  the  depreciation  of  their  pay ;  and  from  the  first  of 
that  month  it  was  declared  that  the  army  should  receive  it  in  the  new  emis- 
sions. It  was  therefore  an  express  stipulation.  Yet  Madison  states,  "  a 
compromise  was  proposed  by  Hamilton,  by  substituting  the  last  day  of  De- 
cember, 1780,"  for  the  first  of  August,  in  compliance  with  an  objection  of 
the  eastern  states. 

The  same  principle  was  involved  with  that  in  the  pledge  of  $40  for  1, 
of  the  old  emission,  as  to  which  the  charge  has  been  disproved.  It  is  seen 
that  Hamilton's  report  was  in  conformity  with  this  stipulation.  How  the 
change  to  December  occurred,  does  not  appear  ;  but  the  journals  show  that 
Hamilton  voted  to  reinstate  August.*  As  this  statement  rests  solely  upon 
the  evidence  of  Madison,  and  is  neither  in  accordance  with  the  report  nor 
with  this  vote,  its  probability  is  more  than  questionable. — 1  Mad.  278-9, 
280. 

*4  J.  C.  152. 


40  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  a  day,  that  part  of  this  report  which  promised  substan- 
tial and  adequate  funds,  was  considered. 

The  earliest  known  opinions  of  Hamilton  indicate  his 
conviction  that  the  command  of  the  revenue  should  be 
vested  in  congress,  and  that  it  should  have  the  collection 
of  it.  He  had  stated  in  "  the  Continentalist,"*  as  "  the 
great  defect  of  the  confederation,  that  it  gives  the  United 
States  no  property,  or  in  other  words,  no  revenue,  nor  the 
means  of  acquiring  it  inherent  in  themselves,  and  inde- 
pendent on  the  temporary  pleasure  of  the  different  mem- 
bers."— "  As  power  without  revenue,  in  a  political  society, 
was  a  name ;  while  congress,"  he  then  said,  "  continue 
altogether  dependent  on  the  occasional  grants  of  the  seve- 
ral states,  for  the  means  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
federal  government,  it  can  neither  have  dignity,  vigour, 
nor  credit.  Credit  supposes  specific  and  permanent  funds 
for  the  punctual  payment  of  interest,  with  a  moral  cer- 
tainty of  the  final  redemption  of  the  principal.  This 
credit  being  to  be  procured  through  congress,  the  funds 
ought  to  be  provided,  declared,  and  vested  in  them.  Had 
we  begun  the  practice  of  funding  four  years  ago,  we 
should  have  avoided  that  depreciation  of  the  currency, 
which  has  been  as  pernicious  to  the  morals  as  to  the  cre- 
dit of  the  nation."  It  has  been  seen  that  he  at  the  same 
time  expressed  the  opinion,  that  congress  should  have  the 
appointment  "  of  all  officers  of  the  customs,  collectors  of 
taxes,  and  military  officers  of  every  rank,  so  as  to  create 
in  the  interior  of  each  state  a  mass  of  influence  in  favour 
of  the  federal  government." 

The  period  had  now  arrived  when  he  was  enabled,  per- 
sonally, to  propose  the  adoption  of  a  measure  which  he 
had  long  contemplated — the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
national  revenue.  Unfortunately,  on  the  dayf  when  the 

*  August  4,  1781— No.  4.  t  Jan.  27. 


HAMILTON,  41 

discussion  of  this  subject  commenced,  the  delegates  from 
Virginia  laid  before  congress  an  act  of  their  legislature, 
repealing  her  grant  of  the  power  to  raise  an  impost ;  a 
repeal  not  dictated  by  temporary  considerations,  but  mani- 
festing a  decided  repugnance  to  the  supremacy  of  the 
national  legislature  over  any  part  of  the  revenue. 

It  declared,  "  that  the  permitting  any  power  other  than 
the  general  assembly  of  this  commonwealth,  to  levy  duties 
or  taxes  upon  the  citizens  of  this  state,  within  the  same, 
is  injurious  to  its  sovereignty,  may  prove  destructive  of  the 
rights  and  liberty  of  this  people,  and  so  far  as  congress 
might  exercise  the  same,  is  contravening  the  spirit  of  the 
confederation."  Unpropitious  as  this  procedure  was,  no 
other  resource  existed,  and  the  debate  proceeded  in  a  com- 
mittee on  "  permanent  funds." 

The  first  question  to  be  decided  was,  whether  if  funds 
were  provided  they  were  to  be  collected  by  the  states,  or, 
as  Hamilton  had  previously  urged,  should  depend  on  "a 
single  will."  With  a  view  to  its  decision,  he  offered  the 
following  declaratory  resolution : — "  That  it  is  the  opinion 
of  congress  that  complete  justice  cannot  be  done  to  the 
creditors  of  the  United  States,  nor  the  restoration  of  pub- 
lic credit  be  effected,  nor  the  future  exigencies  of  the  war 
be  provided  for,  but  by  the  establishment  of  permanent 
and  adequate  funds,  to  operate  generally  throughout  the 
United  States,  to  be  collected  by  congress" 

The  petition  of  the  officers  of  the  army  had  been  heard 
and  answered  ;  the  memorial  of  the  other  public  creditors 
had  not  been  replied  to. 

After  the  late  act  of  Virginia  repealing  the  impost,  it 
was  particularly  important  that  they  should  receive  a 
similar  pledge  of  ultimate  justice.  Prompted  by  this  con- 
sideration, immediately  after  the  introduction  of  this  im- 
portant resolution,  Hamilton  presented  a  report  on  the 
memorial  of  Pennsylvania  respecting  the  debts  due  to  her 

6 


42  THE    LIFE    OP 

citizens.  This  report  stated,  "  that  any  attempts  to  pay  any 
of  the  past  debts,  would  form  so  heavy  a  deduction  from 
the  greatest  revenue  that  could  be  raised  as  would  totally 
obstruct  all  present  service,  and  that  any  present  provision 
should  be  confined  to  the  interest  of  the  public  debts. 
That  such  provision  would  offer  eventual  relief  to  the  pub- 
lic creditors,  and  enable  them  to  support  their  share  of  the 
public  burdens  without  appropriating  the  whole  revenue 
which  can  be  drawn  from  the  people  to  a  payment  of  debts, 
and  leaving  thereby  the  public  service  unprovided  for, 
which  would  involve  the  ruin  of  all  ranks,  creditors  and 
others.  That  congress  were  and  had  long  been  deeply 
impressed  with  the  absolute  necessity  that  speedy  and 
effectual  measures  should  be  taken,  first  to  liquidate  and 
ascertain  the  public  debts,  and  then  to  secure  the  payment 
of  the  interest  until  the  principal  could  be  discharged. 
Acts  of  congress  were  referred  to  as  evidence  of  this 
assertion.  He  added,  that  after  a  delay  of  two  years, 
Rhode  Island  had  entirely  refused  its  concurrence  to  the 
impost,  that  Virginia  had  withdrawn  its  assent  once  given, 
and  that  a  third  state  had  returned  no  answer. 

The  inability  of  congress  to  perform  its  engagements, 
was  stated  to  have  resulted  from  the  defective  compliances 
of  the  states  during  the  war.  Of  the  last  requisition  for 
eight  millions,  only  four  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars had  been  collected.  The  proceeds  of  the  foreign 
loans*  were  stated,  showing  an  available  balance  a  little 


*  In  vol.  1,  page  273,  of  Madison's  Debates,  this  passage  is  found : — 
"  In  a  late  report,  which  had  been  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  made 
to  congress,  in  answer  to  a  memorial  from  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania, 
among  other  things  showing  the  impossibility  congress  had  been  under  of 
paying  their  creditors,  it  was  observed,  that  the  aid  afforded  by  the  court  of 
France,  had  been  appropriated  by  that  court,  at  the  time,  to  the  immediate 
use  of  the  army.  This  clause  was  objected  to  as  unnecessary,  and  as  dis- 
honourable to  congress.  The  fact  also  was  controverted.  Mr.  Hamilton 


HAMILTON.  43 

exceeding  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  while  to  feed, 
clothe,  and  pay  the  army,  required  nearly  six  millions. 
The  whole  sum  within  the  command  of  congress,  was 

and  Mr.  Fitzsimmons  justified  the  expediency  of  retaining  it,  in  order  to 
justify  congress  the  more  explicitly  in  failing  to  fulfil  their  engagements  to 
the  public  creditors.  Mr.  Wilson  and  Madison  proposed  to  strike  out  the 
words  '  appropriated  by  France,'  and  substitute  the  words  '  applied  by  con- 
gress to  the  immediate  and  necessary  support  of  the  army.'  This  proposi- 
tion would  have  been  readily  approved,  had  it  not  appeared  on  examination, 
that  in  one  or  two  small  instances,  and  particularly  in  the  payment  of  the 
balance  due  to  Arthur  Lee,  Esq.,  other  applications  had  been  made  of  the  aid 
in  question.  The  report  was  finally  recommitted." 

This  is  no  less  than  a  charge  of  stating  an  untruth,  and  justifying  it  on 
the  score  of  expediency,  on  the  part  of  two  gentlemen  whose  probity  never 
was  suspected,  and  for  the  motive  of  justifying  congress  with  the  public 
creditors.  This  minute  is  of  the  24th  of  January.  It  speaks  of  a  late  report 
made  to  congress.  The  journal  of  that  date  does  not  refer  to  this  report,  but 
on  the  thirtieth  of  January  it  is  given  in  full,  as  having  been  "  agreed  to  as 
follows."  A  reason  assigned  by  Madison  why  the  clause  thus  objected  to 
was  not  stricken  out,  is,  that  there  had  been  a  diversion  of  the  money  in  one 
or  two  small  instances.  He  adds,  that  it  was  recommitted.  But  if  these 
instances  prevented  this  clause  being  expunged,  if  it  had  been  originally  in 
the  report,  it  must  necessarily  have  been  retained.  On  referring  to  this  re- 
port, "  agreed  to"  by  congress,  no  such  clause  can  be  found.  Its  language 
is — "  But  according  to  the  best  accounts  which  can  be  obtained,  the  antici- 
pations made  in  the  funds  for  the  year  1782  amounted,  at  the  close  of  1781, 
to  four  millions  of  livres.  For  the  service  of  that  year,  his  most  Christian 
majesty  lent  the  United  States  6,000,000  livres." — 4  J.  C.  155. 

But  if  it  be  assumed  that  the  clause  was  there  originally,  and  was 
stricken  out,  the  charge  is  unsupported.  The  journals,  page  202,  contain 
the  papers  which  Madison  as  chairman  of  a  committee  reported,  and  refer- 
red to  in  an  address  of  which  he  was  the  author.  One  of  these  papers,  No. 
IV.,  is  a  letter  from  the  French  ambassador  at  Philadelphia,  dated  March 
15,  1783.  It  commences  thus — "  Sir :  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you, 
that  his  majesty  procures  for  the  United  States  a  loan  of  six  millions,  to  be 

employed  in  the  war  department  during  the  course  of  the  current  year." 

"  The  Count  de  Vergennes  informs  me,  sir,  that  the  six  millions  are  lent  to 
the  United  States  in  the  same  manner,  and  under  the  same  conditions,  with 

the  sum  which  was  lent  last  year." "  I  have  had  the  honour  to  inform  you, 

sir,  that  this  money  is  lent  to  the  United  States  to  enable  them  to  carry  on 
the  war.  The  wisdom  of  congress  will  determine  according  to  circum- 


44  THE    LIFE    OF 

little  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  ;  a  sum  insuf- 
ficient to  pay  the  interest  then  due  on  the  public  debts. 
"  Yet,"  Hamilton  remarked,  "  notwithstanding  the  discour- 
aging obstacles  they  have  hitherto  encountered,  they 
conceive  it  a  duty  to  themselves  and  to  their  constituents, 
to  persevere  in  their  intentions  to  renew  and  extend  their 
endeavours  to  procure  the  establishment  of  revenues  equal 
to  the  purpose  of  funding  all  the  debts  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  they  think  it  proper  to  inform  the  assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania, that  this  subject  is  now  before  them  under  so- 
lemn deliberation,  and  that  her  ready  and  early  compliance 
with  the  recommendation  of  (an  impost)  assures  congress 
of  the  vigorous  support  of  that  state." 

Soon  after  this  pledge  was  given,  a  report  as  to  the 
mode  of  valuing  the  lands  was  taken  into  consideration. 

This  report  proposed  that  the  states  should  pass  laws 
forming  themselves  into  districts,  and  should  appoint  com- 
missioners to  estimate  the  value  of  their  lands ;  which 
estimate,  if  approved  by  congress,  was  to  determine  the 
requisitions  to  be  made. 

Convinced  that  no  efficient  plan  would  be  adopted  from 
the  predominance  of  state  jealousies,  and  regarding  the 
contemplated  mode  as  involving  inequalities  and  contro- 
versy, Hamilton  moved  to  postpone  the  valuation.  He 
assigned  as  reasons,  "  the  great  expense  of  it,  to  which  the 
finances  were  then  inadequate,  and  that  in  a  matter  so 

stances  on  the  manner  of  effecting  that  important  object,  and  of  compelling 
the  enemy,  by  joint  efforts,  to  conclude  a  solid  and  permanent  peace." 

That  such  was  the  sole  object  of  this  loan  made  by  France,  then  under 
great  pecuniary  pressure,  is  obvious.  Already  a  creditor  for  a  large  amount, 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  France  would  have  made  an  additional  loan  to 
the  United  States  to  pay  their  domestic  creditors.  A  declaration  such  as 
that  which  Madison  represents  Wilson  as  concurring  with  him  in  endeavour- 
ing to  substitute,  would  have  been  to  declare  that  congress  had  violated  their 
pledge  to  France  in  applying  this  loan  to  the  immediate  use  of  the  army — 
the  express  use  for  which  the  loan  was  granted. 


HAMILTON.  45 

fundamental  in  the  confederation,  it  was  essential  to  the 
harmony  and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  that  it  should 
be  carried  into  effect  with  great  care,  circumspection,  and 
impartiality,  and  that  a  short  delay  would  be  much  less 
pernicious  than  a  defective  execution." 

After  thus  urging  that  the  attempt  should  be  deferred, 
he  pledged  congress  to  proceed  to  an  accurate  valuation 
of  the  land  by  commissioners,  appointed  by  them,  and  act- 
ing under  their  authority,  upon  principles  uniform  through- 
out the  United  States ;  that  when  this  valuation  is  com- 
plete, congress  will  finally  adjust  the  accounts  of  the 
United  States  with  the  states  separately,  agreeably  to  that 
standard,  making  equitable  abatements  to  such  as  have 
been  more  immediate  sufferers  by  the  war :  that  in  the 
mean  time  they  would  adhere,  in  the  temporary  adjust- 
ment of  these  accounts,  to  the  proportions  established  by 
the  requisitions  of  congress ;  and  with  a  view  to  an  eventual 
plan,  he  requested  the  states  to  transmit  to  them  the  valua- 
tions they  had  made,  with  an  explanation  of  the  principles 
on  which  they  had  been  made. 

This  motion,  though  supported  by  a  majority  of  mem- 
bers, was  lost  in  a  vote  by  states,  and  the  plan  reported 
was  rejected. 

The  course  of  their  proceedings  gave  small  prospect 
of  any  salutary  results.  The  officers  were  urgently  press- 
ing their  claims.  The  justice  of  those  claims  was  not  to 
be  questioned.  The  terms  of  commutation  offered  by  the 
army,  could  not  be  excepted  to.  The  claimants  were 
suffering.  They  had  received  nothing  but  assurances,  and 
they  had  reason  to  believe  that,  on  the  part  of  many,  those 
assurances  were  deceptive.  There  was  danger.  Hamilton 
felt  it,  and  after  due  reflection,  he  unbosomed  his  appre- 
hensions to  the  commander-in-chief. 


46  THELIFEOF 


HAMILTON  TO  WASHINGTON. 

Philadelphia,  Feb.  7, 1783. 
SIR, 

Flattering  myself  that  your  knowledge  of  me  will  in- 
duce you  to  receive  the  observations  I  make  as  dictated 
by  a  regard  to  the  public  good,  I  take  the  liberty  to  sug- 
gest to  you  my  ideas  on  some  matters  of  delicacy  and  im- 
portance. I  view  the  present  juncture  as  a  very  interest- 
ing one.  I  need  not  observe  how  far  the  temper  and 
situation  of  the  army  make  it  so.  The  state  of  our  finan- 
ces was  perhaps  never  more  critical.  I  am  under  injunc- 
tions which  will  not  permit  me  to  disclose  some  facts  that 
would  at  once  demonstrate  this  position,  but  I  think  it 
probable  you  will  be  possessed  of  them  through  another 
channel.*  It  is  however  certain  that  there  has  scarcely 
been  a  period  of  the  revolution  which  called  more  for 
wisdom  and  decision  in  congress.  Unfortunately  for  us, 
we  are  a  body  not  governed  by  reason  or  foresight,  but 
by  circumstances.  It  is  probable  we  shall  not  take  the 
proper  measures ;  and  if  we  do  not,  a  few  months  may 
open  an  embarrassing  scene.  This  will  be  the  case,  whether 
we  have  peace  or  a  continuance  of  the  war. 

If  the  war  continues,  it  would  seem  that  the  army  must 
in  June  subsist  itself  to  defend  the  country  ;  if  peace  should 
take  place,  it  will  subsist  itself  to  procure  justice  to  itself. 
It  appears  to  be  a  prevailing  opinion  in  the  army,  that  the 
disposition  to  recompense  their  services  will  cease  with 
the  necessity  for  them,  and  that  if  they  once  lay  down 
their  arms,  they  part  with  the  means  of  obtaining  justice. 

It  is  to  be  lamented  that  appearances  afford  too  much 
ground  for  their  distrust. 

*  Probably  from  the  superintendent  of  finance. 


HAMILTON.  47 

It  becomes  a  serious  inquiry,  What  is  the  true  line  of 
policy  ?  The  claims  of  the  army,  urged  with  moderation, 
but  with  firmness,  may  operate  on  those  weak  minds 
which  are  influenced  by  their  apprehensions  more  than 
by  their  judgments,  so  as  to  produce  a  concurrence  in  the 
measures  which  the  exigencies  of  affairs  demand.  They 
may  add  weight  to  the  applications  of  congress  to  the 
several  states.  So  far  a  useful  turn  may  be  given  to 
them.  But  the  difficulty  will  be  to  keep  a  complaining 
and  suffering  army  within  the  bounds  of  moderation. 

This  your  excellency's  influence  must  effect.  In  order 
to  it,  it  will  be  advisable  not  to  discountenance  their  en- 
deavours to  procure  redress,  but  rather,  by  the  intervention 
of  confidential  and  prudent  persons,  to  take  the  direction 
of  them.  This,  however,  must  not  appear.  It  is  of  mo- 
ment to  the  public  tranquillity  that  your  excellency  should 
preserve  the  confidence  of  the  army,  without  losing  that 
of  the  people.  This  will  enable  you  in  case  of  extremity 
to  guide  the  torrent,  and  to  bring  order,  perhaps  even 
good,  out  of  confusion.  'Tis  a  part  that  requires  address, 
but  'tis  one  which  your  own  situation  as  well  as  the  welfare 
of  the  community  points  out. 

I  will  not  conceal  from  your  excellency  a  truth  which  it 
is  necessary  you  should  know.  An  idea  is  propagated  in 
the  army,  that  delicacy  carried  to  an  extreme  prevents 
your  espousing  its  interests  with  sufficient  warmth.  The 
falsehood  of  this  opinion  no  one  can  be  better  acquainted 
with  than  myself;  but  it  is  not  the  less  mischievous  for  be- 
ing false.  Its  tendency  is  to  impair  that  influence  which 
you  may  exert  with  advantage,  should  any  commotions 
unhappily  ensue,  to  moderate  the  pretensions  of  the  army, 
and  make  their  conduct  correspond  with  their  duty. 

The  great  desideratum  at  present  is  the  establishment 
of  general  funds,  which  alone  can  do  justice  to  the  credi- 
tors of  the  United  States,  (of  whom  the  army  forms  the 


48  THE    LIFE    OF 

X 

most  meritorious  class,)  restore  public  credit,  and  supply 
the  future  wants  of  government.  This  is  the  object  of  all 
men  of  sense ;  in  this  the  influence  of  the  army,  properly 
directed,  may  co-operate. 

The  intimations  I  have  thrown  out,  will  suffice  to  give 
your  excellency  a  proper  conception  of  my  sentiments : 
you  will  judge  of  their  reasonableness  or  fallacy ;  but  I 
persuade  myself  you  will  do  justice  to  my  motives. 

General  Knox  has  the  confidence  of  the  army,  and  is  a 
man  of  sense ;  I  think  he  may  be  safely  made  use  of. 
Situated  as  I  am,  your  exellency  will  feel  the  confidential 
nature  of  these  observations. 

A  few  days  after  writing  this  letter,*  Hamilton  proposed 
a  resolution,  which  was  passed,  that  "  the  commander-in- 
chief  be  informed  that  congress  are  always  happy  to  receive 
his  sentiments  on  the  political  and  military  affairs  of  these 
states,  the  utility  of  which  they  have  on  so  many  occasions 
experienced."  It  also  stated  "  the  probability  of  peace,"  and 
directed  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  "  to  make  a  confi- 
dential communication  to  him  of  the  state  of  the  negotia- 
tions for  peace  when  the  last  advices  were  received." 

The  day  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  the  discussion  of 
the  mode  of  ascertaining  the  quotas  of  the  states  was  re- 
sumed. Various  propositions  were  made,  at  different 
times,  until  the  seventeenth  of  February,  when  a  plan  was 
adopted,  five  members  dissenting,  f 

By  this  plan,  the  legislature  of  each  state  was  required 
to  take  the  most  effectual  measures  to  obtain  a  just  and 
accurate  account  of  the  quantity  of  its  land  granted  or 
surveyed,  of  the  number  of  buildings,  distinguishing  dwell- 
ings from  others,  and  of  the  number  of  white  and  black 
inhabitants.  These  returns  were  to  be  examined  by  a 

*  Feb.  20.  f  Hamilton,  Madison,  Carroll,  Floyd,  Lee. 


HAMILTON.  49 

grand  committee  of  congress,  nine  of  whom  concurring, 
were  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  granted  or 
surveyed  lands,  and  of  the  buildings  or  improvements,  to 
be  approved  or  rejected  by  that  body.  This  estimate  was 
to  be  the  rule  of  apportioning  among  the  states  the  quotas 
to  be  paid  into  the  continental  treasury,  and  also  of  ad- 
justing all  accounts  between  the  United  States  and  the 
individual  states  for  previous  supplies. 

As  this  rule,  if  strictly  adhered  to,  would  charge  the 
states,  which  had  been  the  theatres  of  war,  for  past  sup- 
plies according  to  their  future  ability,  when  in  an  entire 
condition,  and  might  operate  very  unequally  upon  New- 
York,  it  has  been  seen  that  Hamilton  embraced  in  his 
resolution,  for  an  eventual  valuation,  a  recommendation 
that  the  states  should  vest  congress  with  a  power  of  mak- 
ing equitable  abatements  in  favour  of  such  as  had  been 
more  immediate  sufferers  by  the  war. 

This  motion  was  in  accordance  with  a  recommenda- 
tion of  the  previous  congress,  that  in  a  final  settlement 
of  the  expenses  of  the  war  to  be  borne  by  each  state, 
they  should  be  authorized  to  assume  and  adopt  such  prin- 
ciples, as  from  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  several 
states  at  different  periods  might  appear  just  and  equitable. 
It  was  committed,  but  as  Virginia  had  disagreed  to  that 
recommendation,  a  committee  reported  against  it.  Ham- 
ilton subsequently  again  brought  forward  this  proposition 
in  a  different  form.  It  was  a  declaratory  resolution  by 
congress  that  they  would  make  such  abatements. 

Though  admitted  to  be  within  the  spirit  of  the  con- 
federation, a  postponement  was  moved  ;  but  with  a  view 
to  defeat  it,  it  was  considered  and  rejected.* 


*  In  vol.  1,  page  362,  Madison  Papers,  Madison  represents  himself  as  be- 
ing  in  favour  of  "  the  abatements  proposed  by  Hamilton" — and  in  page  418, 
as  offering  an  amendment  to  Hamilton's  resolution,  for  which  his  reasons  are 

7 


50  THELIFEOP 

The  importance  of  this  question  to  the  interests  of  the 
community  he  represented,  and  the  course  which  he  had 
taken  in  reference  to  it,  induced  Hamilton  to  address  a 
letter*  to  the  governor  of  New- York. 

"  I  enclose,"  he  said,  "  for  the  information  of  the  legis- 
lature, the  proceedings  upon  it  in  different  stages,  by 
which  they  will  see  the  part  I  have  acted.  But  as  I  was 
ultimately  left  in  a  small  minority,  I  think  it  my  duty  to 
explain  the  motives  upon  which  my  opposition  to  the 
general  sense  of  the  house  was  grounded.  I  am  of  opin- 
ion, that  the  article  of  confederation  itself  was  ill-judged. 
In  the  first  place,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  any  general 
representative  of  the  wealth  of  a  nation,  the  criterion  of 
its  ability  to  pay  taxes.  There  are  only  two  that  can  be 
thought  of — land  and  numbers.  The  revenues  of  the 
United  Provinces,  general  and  particular,  were  computed 
before  the  present  war  at  more  than  half  as  much  as  those 
of  Great  Britain.  The  extent  of  their  territory  is  not  one 
fourth  part  as  great ;  their  population,  less  than  a  third. 

•*  The  comparison  is  still  more  striking  between  those 
provinces  and  the  Swiss  cantons,  in  both  of  which,  extent 
of  territory  and  population  are  nearly  the  same  ;  and  yet, 
the  revenues  of  the  former  are  five  times  as  large  as  those 
of  the  latter  ;  nor  could  any  efforts  of  taxation  bring  them 
to  any  thing  like  a  level. 

"  In  both  cases,  the  advantages  for  agriculture  are  superior 
in  those  countries  which  afford  least  revenue  in  proportion. 
I  have  selected  these  examples  because  they  are  most  famil- 
iar ;  but  whoever  will  extend  the  comparison  between  the 
different  nations  of  the  world,  will  perceive  that  the  position 
I  have  laid  down  is  supported  by  universal  experience. 

stated.     On  the  4th  of  March,  he  voted,  in  common  with  all  the  other  Vir. 
ginia  members,  first  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  this  resolution,  and 
then  to  reject  it. — 4  J.  C.  170. 
*  February  24,  1783. 


HAMILTON.  51 

"The  truth  is,  the  ability  of  a  country  to  pay  taxes,  de- 
pends on  infinite  combinations  of  physical  and  moral 
causes,  which  can  never  be  accommodated  to  any  general 
rule  ;  climate,  soil,  productions,  advantages  for  navigation, 
government,  genius  of  the  people,  progress  of  arts,  and 
industry,  and  an  endless  variety  of  circumstances.  The 
diversities  are  sufficiently  great  in  these  states  to  make  an 
infinite  difference  in  their  relative  wealth,  the  proportion  of 
which  can  never  be  found  by  any  common  measure  whatever. 

"  The  only  possible  way,  then,  of  making  them  contribute 
to  the  general  expense  in  an  equal  proportion  to  their  means, 
is  by  general  taxes  imposed  under  continental  authority. 

"  In  this  mode,  there  would  no  doubt  be  inequalities,  and 
for  a  considerable  time  material  ones  ;  but  experience, 
and  the  constant  operation  of  a  general  interest,  which,  by 
the  very  collision  of  particular  interests,  must  in  the  main 
prevail  in  a  continental  deliberative  body,  would  at  length 
correct  those  inequalities,  and  balance  one  tax  that  should 
bear  hard  upon  one  state,  by  another  that  should  have  a 
proportional  weight  in  others.  This  idea,  however,  was 
not  at  the  period  of  framing  the  confederation,  and  is  not 
yet  agreeable  to  the  spirit  of  the  times.  To  futurity  we 
must  leave  the  discovery  how  far  this  spirit  is  wise  or 
foolish.  One  thing  only  is  now  certain,  that  congress, 
having  the  discretionary  power  of  determining  the  quantum 
of  money  to  be  paid  into  the  general  treasury  towards  de- 
fraying the  common  expenses,  have  in  effect  the  constitu- 
tional power  of  general  taxation.  The  restraints  upon 
the  exercise  of  this  power  amount  to  the  perpetuating  a 
rule  for  fixing  the  proportions,  which  must  of  necessity  pro- 
duce inequality,  and  by  refusing  the  federal  government  a 
power  of  specific  taxation  and  of  collection,  without  substitu- 
ting any  other  adequate  means  of  coercion,  do  in  fact  leave 
the  compliance  with  continental  requisitions  to  the  good- 
will of  the  respective  states.  Inequality  is  inherent  in  the 


52  THELIFEOF 

theory  of  the  confederation ;  and  in  the  practice,  that  ine- 
quality must  increase  in  proportion  to  the  honesty  or  dis- 
honesty of  the  component  parts.  This  vice  will  either  in  its 
consequences  reform  the  foederal  constitution,  or  dissolve  it. 

"  If  a  general  standard  must  be  fixed,  numbers  were  pre- 
ferable to  land.  Modes  might  be  devised  to  ascertain  the 
former  with  tolerable  precision  ;  but  I  am  persuaded,  the 
experiment  will  prove  that  the  value  of  all  the  land,  in 
each  state,  cannot  be  ascertained  with  any  thing  like  ex- 
actness. Both  these  measures  have  the  common  disad- 
vantage, of  being  no  equal  representative  of  the  wealth 
of  the  people ;  but  one  is  much  more  simple,  definite,  and 
certain  than  the  other. 

"  I  have  indulged  myself  in  these  remarks,  to  show  that 
I  have  little  expectation  of  success  from  any  mode  of  car- 
rying the  article  in  question  into  execution  upon  equitable 
principles.  I  owe  it,  however,  to  myself  to  declare,  that 
my  opposition  did  not  arise  from  this  source.  The  con- 
federation has  pointed  out  this  mode,  and  though  I  would 
heartily  join  in  a  representation  of  the  difficulties  (of  which 
every  man  of  sense  must  be  sensible  on  examination)  that 
occur  in  the  execution  of  the  plan,  to  induce  the  states  to 
consent  to  a  change ;  yet  as  this  was  not  the  disposition 
of  a  majority  of  congress,  I  would  have  assented  to  any 
mode  of  attempting  it,  which  was  not  either  obviously 
mischievous  or  impracticable. 

"  The  first  plan  proposed,  as  your  excellency  will  see, 
was  an  actual  valuation  of  each  state  by  itself.  This  was 
evidently  making  the  interested  party  judge  in  his  own 
cause.  Those  who  have  seen  the  operation  of  this  prin- 
ciple between  the  counties  in  the  same  state,  and  the  dis- 
tricts in  the  same  county,  cannot  doubt  a  moment  that  the 
valuations  on  this  plan  would  have  been  altogether  un- 
equal and  unjust.  Without  supposing  more  liberality  in 
one  state  than  another,  the  degree  of  care,  judgment,  and 


HAMILTON.  53 

method,  employed  in  the  execution,  would  alone  make 
extreme  differences  in  the  results. 

"This  mode  had  also  the  further  inconvenience  of 
awakening  all  the  jealousies  of  the  several  states  against 
each  other.  Each  would  suspect  that  its  neighbour  had 
favoured  itself,  whether  the  partiality  appeared  or  not.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  silence  these  distrusts,  and  to  make 
the  states  sit  down  satisfied  with  the  justice  of  each  other. 
Every  new  requisition  for  money,  would  be  a  new  signal 
for  discussion  and  clamour,  and  the  seeds  of  disunion, 
already  sown  too  thick,  would  be  not  a  little  multiplied. 

"  To  guard  against  these  evils,  the  plan  proposes  a  revi- 
sion by  congress  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  be  seen,  that  such  a 
power  could  not  be  exercised.  Should  any  states  return 
defective  valuations,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  sufficient 
evidence  to  determine  them  such ;  to  alter  would  not  be 
admissible,  for  congress  could  have  no  data  which  could 
be  presumed  equivalent  to  those  which  must  have  gov- 
erned the  judgment  of  commissioners  under  oath,  on  an 
actual  view  of  the  premises.  To  do  either  this  or  to  re- 
ject, would  be  an  impeachment  of  the  honour  of  the  states, 
which  it  is  not  probable  there  would  be  decision  enough 
to  hazard,  and  which,  if  done,  could  not  fail  to  excite 
serious  disgusts.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between  a 
single  state  exercising  such  a  power  over  its  own  counties, 
and  a  confederated  government  exercising  it  over  sovereign 
states  which  compose  the  confederacy.  It  might  also 
happen,  that  too  many  states  would  be  interested  in  the 
defective  valuations,  to  leave  a  sufficient  number  willing 
either  to  alter  or  to  reject.  These  considerations  pre- 
vailed to  prevent  the  plan  being  adopted  by  a  majority. 

"  The  last  plan  may  be  less  mischievous  than  the  first,  but 
it  appears  to  me  altogether  ineffectual.  The  mere  quan- 
tity of  land  granted  and  surveyed,  with  the  general  species 
of  buildings  upon  them,  can  certainly  be  no  criteria  to 


54  THELIFEOF 

determine  their  value.  The  plan  does  not  even  distinguish 
the  improved  from  the  unimproved  land,  the  qualities  of 
soil,  or  degrees  of  improvement ;  the  qualities  of  the 
houses  and  other  buildings  are  entirely  omitted.  These, 
it  seems,  are  to  be  judged  of  by  the  commissioners  to  be 
appointed  by  each  state  ;  but  I  am  unable  to  conceive  how 
any  commissioner  can  form  the  least  estimate  of  these 
circumstances  with  respect  even  to  his  own  state,  much 
less  with  respect  to  other  states,  which  would  be  neces- 
sary to  establish  a  just  relative  value.  If  even  there  was 
a  distinction  of  improved  from  unimproved  land,  by  sup- 
posing an  intrinsic  value  in  the  land,  and  adopting  general 
rates,  something  nearer  the  truth  might  be  attained ;  but 
it  must  now  be  all  conjecture  and  uncertainty. 

"  The  number  of  inhabitants,  distinguishing  white  from 
black,  is  called  for.  This  is  not  only  totally  foreign  to  the 
confederation,  but  can  answer  no  reasonable  purpose.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  proportion  of  numbers  may  guide 
and  correct  the  estimates ;  an  assertion  purely  verbal,  and 
which  has  no  meaning.  A  judgment  must  first  be  formed 
of  the  value  of  the  lands  upon  some  principle.  If  this 
should  be  altered  by  the  proportion  of  numbers,  it  is  plain, 
numbers  would  be  substituted  to  land. 

"  Another  objection  to  this  plan  is,  that  it  lets  in  the  par- 
ticular interests  of  the  states,  to  operate  in  the  returns  of 
the  quantities  of  land,  number  of  buildings,  and  number 
of  inhabitants.  But  the  principle  of  this  objection  applies 
less  forcibly  here,  than  against  the  former  plan. 

"  Whoever  will  consider  the  plain  import  of  the  eighth 
article  of  the  confederation,  must  be  convinced  that  it  in- 
tended an  actual  a*nd  specific  valuation  of  land,  buildings, 
and  improvements — not  a  mere  general  estimate,  according 
to  the  present  plan.  While  we  insist,  therefore,  upon  ad- 
hering to  the  confederation,  we  should  do  it  in  reality,  not 
barely  in  appearance. 


HAMILTON.  55 

"  Many  of  those  who  voted  for  this  scheme,  had  as  bad 
an  opinion  of  it  as  myself,  but  they  were  induced  to  ac- 
cede to  it  by  a  persuasion  that  some  plan  for  the  purpose 
was  expected  by  the  states ;  and  that  none  better,  in  the 
present  circumstances  of  the  country,  could  be  fallen  upon. 

"  A  leading  rule  which  I  have  laid  down  for  the  direc- 
tion of  my  conduct,  is  this : — that  while  I  would  have  a  just 
deference  for  the  expectations  of  the  states,  I  would  never 
consent  to  amuse  them  by  attempts  which  must  either 
fail  in  the  execution,  or  be  productive  of  evil.  I  would 
rather  incur  the  negative  inconveniences  of  delay,  than 
the  positive  mischiefs  of  injudicious  expedients.  A  con- 
trary conduct  serves  to  destroy  confidence  in  the  govern- 
ment, the  greatest  misfortune  that  can  befall  a  nation. 
There  should,  in  my  opinion,  be  a  character  of  wisdom 
and  efficiency  in  all  the  measures  of  the  federal  council,  the 
opposite  of  a  spirit  of  temporizing  concession.  I  would 
have  sufficient  reliance  on  the  judgments  of  the  several 
states,  to  hope  that  good  reasons  for  not  attempting  a 
thing,  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  them  than  precipitate 
and  fruitless  attempts. 

"  My  idea  is,  that  taking  it  for  granted  the  states  will  ex- 
pect an  experiment  on  the  principle  of  the  confederation, 
the  best  plan*  will  be  to  make  it  by  commissioners,  ap- 
pointed by  congress  and  acting  under  their  authority. 

*  In  1  Mad.  318,  Madison  observes — "  Mr.  Hamilton  concurred  in"  (his) 
"  views,  and  wished  the  valuation  to  be  taken  up,  in  order  that  its  impracti- 
cability and  futility  might  become  manifest."  This  statement  is  at  variance 
with  these  facts.  It  has  been  seen  that  on  the  6th  January,  1783,  Hamilton 
offered  a  resolution  for  "  an  eventual  valuation."  Here  again,  he  urges  an 
adherence  to  the  confederation,  as  intending  "  an  actual  and  specific  valua- 
tion ;"  and  in  notes  for  a  speech,  endorsed  on  a  letter  from  Clinton,  respect- 
ing Vermont,  he  says — "  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  those  who  made  the 
confederation,  did  not  consider  various  plans." — "  The  states  do  not  pay 
taxes,  because  we  do  not  proceed  according  to  the  confederation." — "  Go 
according  to  confederation" 


56  THELIFEOF 

Congress  might,  in  the  first  instance,  appoint  three  or  more 
of  the  principal  characters  in  each  state  for  probity  and 
abilities,  with  a  power  to  nominate  other  commissioners 
under  them  in  each  subdivision  of  the  state.  General 
principles  might  be  laid  down  for  the  regulation  of  their 
conduct,  by  which  uniformity  in  the  manner  of  conduct- 
ing the  business  would  obtain.  Sanctions  of  such  solem- 
nity might  be  prescribed,  and  s^uch  notoriety  given  to  every 
part  of  the  transaction,  that  the  commissioners  could 
neither  be  careless  nor  partial  without  a  sacrifice  of  repu- 
tation. 

"  To  carry  this  plan,  however,  into  effect  with  sufficient 
care  and  accuracy,  would  be  a  work  both  of  time  and 
expense  ;  and,  unfortunately,  we  are  so  pressed  to  find 
money  for  calls  of  immediate  necessity,  that  we  could  not 
at  present  undertake  a  measure  which  would  require  so 
large  a  sum. 

"  To  me  it  appears  evident,  that  every  part  of  a  business 
which  is  of  so  important  and  universal  concern,  should  be 
transacted  on  uniform  principles,  and  under  the  direction 
of  that  body  which  has  a  common  interest.  In  general,  I 
regard  the  present  moment,  probably  the  dawn  of  peace, 
as  peculiarly  critical ;  and  the  measures  which  it  shall  pro- 
duce, as  of  great  importance  to  the  future  welfare  of  these 
states.  I  am,  therefore,  scrupulously  cautious  of  assenting 
to  such  as  appear  to  me  founded  on  false  principles. 

"  Your  excellency  will  observe  that  the  valuation  of  the 
lands  is  to  be  the  standard  for  adjusting  the  accounts  for 
past  supplies,  between  the  United  States  and  the  particular 
states.  This,  if  adhered  to  without  allowance  for  the  cir- 
cumstances of  those  states  which  have  been  more  imme- 
diately the  theatre  of  the  war,  will  charge  our  state  for 
the  past  according  to  its  future  ability,  when  in  an  entire 
condition,  if  the  valuation  should  be  made  after  we  regain 
possession  of  the  parts  of  the  state  now  in  the  power  of 


HAMILTON.  57 

the  enemy.  I  have,  therefore,  introduced  a  motion  for  re- 
peating the  call  in  a  more  earnest  manner  upon  the  states 
to  vest  congress  with  a  power  of  making  equitable  abate- 
ments, agreeably  to  the  spirit  of  the  resolution  of  the 
twentieth  of  February  last,  which  few  of  the  states  have 
complied  with.  This  motion  has  been  committed.  I 
know  not  what  will  be  its  fate. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  opposition  I  have  given,  now  the 
matter  has  been  decided  in  congress,  I  hope  the  state  will 
cheerfully  comply  with  what  is  required.  Unless  each 
state  is  governed  by  this  principle,  there  is  an  end  of  the 
union.  Every  state  will  no  doubt  have  a  right,  in  this 
case,  to  accompany  its  compliance  with  such  remarks  as 
it  may  think  proper. 

"  After  the  plan  was  agreed  upon,  it  was  committed  to 
be  put  into  form ;  and  when  reported,  instead  of  commis- 
sioners, an  alteration  was  carried  for  making  the  estimate 
by  a  grand  committee." 

"  February  twenty-seventh. — Mr.  Morris  has  signified  to 
congress  his  resolution  to  resign  by  the  first  of  June,  if 
adequate  funds  are  not  by  that  time  provided.  This  will 
be  a  severe  stroke  to  our  affairs.  No  man  fit  for  the 
office  will  be  willing  to  supply  his  place  for  the  very  rea- 
sons he  resigns.  'Tis  happy  for  us  we  have  reason  to 
expect  a  peace.  I  am  sorry  that  by  different  accounts  it 
appears  not  to  have  been  concluded  late  in  December." 

While  this  subject  was  under  consideration,  the  question 
of  providing  for  the  public  debt  was  again  brought  for- 
ward. The  temper  of  congress  led  Hamilton  to  doubt 
whether  its  policy  would  be  such  as  the  interests  of  the 
nation  demanded.  He  believed  that  the  influence  of  pub- 
lic opinion  might  be  beneficially  exerted,  and  he  resolved 
to  endeavour  to  cause  it  to  be  felt. 

It  is  known  that  the  deliberations  of  the  congress  of  the 
confederation  were  secret.  During  the  earlier  periods  of 

8 


58  THELIFEOF 

the  revolution,  this  precaution  in  an  assembly  exercising 
not  only  legislative  but  executive  powers,  was  absolutely 
necessary.  But  this  necessity  was  felt  by  discerning  men 
not  to  be  the  least  of  the  evils  attending  a  government  by 
a  single  body.  The  salutary  control  of  public  sentiment 
was  not  felt,  intrigues  often  prevailed  over  the  maturest 
counsels,  and  the  highest  talent  mourned  the  absence  of 
that  great  support — the  warm  sympathies  of  the  people. 
Obvious  as  the  consequences  of  this  secrecy  were,  no  at- 
tempt had  been  made,  during  all  the  long  period  of  the 
revolution,  to  break  through  it. 

It  remained  for  Hamilton  to  make  the  first  effort  in 
favour  of  open  debate.  He  saw  the  congress  sinking 
rapidly  in  public  esteem,  its  recommendations  disregarded, 
its  resolves  disobeyed,  its  counsels  misrepresented ;  the 
fears  of  the  timid,  stimulated  by  the  arts  of  the  factious, 
viewing  it  as  the  theatre  of  cabals,  hostile  to  liberty,  when 
in  fact,  the  jealousies  of  particular  states  prevented  the 
exercise  of  those  powers  which  were  essential  to  the  chief 
object  of  its  institution — the  common  defence.  He  saw 
these  influences  at  this  moment  unusually  active,  while  the 
clamours  of  the  public  creditors  and  of  the  army  were 
heard  at  their  doors  demanding  an  audience. 

He  had  resorted  in  vain  to  private  solicitation  ;  in  vain 
had  he  exerted  all  the  powers  of  eloquent  persuasion  to 
induce  a  compliance  with  their  just  demands.  The  stern 
prejudices  of  New-Hampshire  could  not  be  overcome ; 
Connecticut  was  not  to  be  soothed.  By  those  states  it 
was  intended  that  a  most  solemn  pledge  for  a  most  sacred 
debt,  the  price  of  their  independence,  should  be  deliber- 
ately violated. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  February,  the  day  appointed  to 
consider  the  proposition  to  raise  substantial  funds,  a  call, 
which  Hamilton  seconded,  for  an  estimate  of  the  principal 
of  the  liquidated  and  unliquidated  debt,  was  followed  by 


HAMILTON.  59 

a  motion,  in  pursuance  of  instructions  from  Connecticut, 
asking  an  account  of  the  names  and  titles  of  all  civil  and 
diplomatic  officers,  and  a  statement  of  the  amount  of  all 
grants  for  the  pay,  half-pay,  and  gratuities,  for  their  past 
services. 

Hamilton  felt  that  the  honour  of  the  nation  was  at  stake, 
and  that  it  was  a  question  for  the  nation  to  decide.  He 
proposed  the  following  resolution : — "  Whereas,  it  is  the 
desire  of  congress  that  the  motives  of  their  deliberations 
and  measures,  (as  far  as  they  can  be  disclosed  consistently 
with  the  public  safety,)  should  be  fully  known  to  their 
constituents — therefore,  resolved,  That  when  the  establish- 
ment of  funds  for  paying  the  principal  and  interest  of  the 
public  debt  shall  be  under  the  consideration  of  this  house, 
the  doors  shall  be  opened." 

This  resolution  was  postponed  almost  without  a  reply, 
for  the  only  answer  given  to  so  important  a  proposition, 
was  the  remark  of  the  delegate  from  Rhode  Island,  as  to 
whom  he  had  reported  a  vote  of  censure,  "  that  if  the 
member  wishes  to  display  his  eloquence,  he  should  address 
the  people  from  the  balcony." 

Immediately  after  the  defeat  of  this  proposal,  a  report 
was  made  to  the  house  by  the  grand  committee,  which 
contained  a  modification  of  Hamilton's  resolution  so  as 
to  declare  the  necessity  of  permanent  and  adequate  funds, 
but  omitted  the  provision  that  they  should  be  collected  by 
congress.  In  this  form  it  passed  by  the  votes  of  seven 
states,  and,  on  the  twenty-first  of  February,  was  referred 
to  a  special  committee.* 

Congress  nowf  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  claims 
of  the  officers.  The  committee  of  which  Hamilton  was 
a  member,  reported  that  the  officers  then  in  service,  and 
who  should  continue  until  the  end  of  the  war,  should 

*  Fitzsimmons,  Gorhara,  Hamilton,  Madison,  Rutledge.          t  Feb.  25. 


60  THE    LIFE    OP 

receive  in  commutation  of  their  half-pay,  full  pay  for 
years,  either  in  money,  or  securities  at  interest,  giv- 
ing to  the  lines  of  the  respective  states,  and  not  to  the 
individual  officers,  the  option  of  accepting  such  commuta- 
tion. This  provision  was  extended  to  all  officers  who  had 
retired  on  a  promise  of  half-pay,  and  to  the  widows  of 
such  as  should  die  in  the  service. 

A  motion  was  made  to  postpone  this  report,  with  a 
view  to  substitute  a  provision  by  the  states,  which  was 
rejected.*  Hamilton  then  moved  to  fill  the  blank  with 
five  and  a  half  years'  pay,  as  nearer  to  an  equivalent  of 
full  pay,  on  the  valuations  of  lives ;  but  this  motion  failed, 
and  the  commutation  was  established  at  five  years'  full 
pay.  The  subject  was  resumed,  and  on  the  28th  of  Feb- 
ruary seven  states  voted  in  favour  of  it.  It  being  a  ques- 
tion which  required,  by  the  confederation,  the  concur- 
rence of  nine  states,  the  provision  was  not  made. 

Soon  after  this  vote,  Hamilton  received  a  reply  to  hjp 
letter  to  Washington,  in  which  will  be  perceived  the  con- 
currence of  the  commander-in-chief  in  the  views  he  had 
suggested  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued,  though  Washing- 
ton appears  not  to  have  entertained  equal  apprehensions 
of  the  impending  commotions  in  the  army. 

Newburgh,  4th  March,  1783. 
DEAR    SIR, 

I  have  received  your  favour  of  February ;  I  thank  you 
for  the  information  and  observations  it  has  conveyed 
to  me.  I  shall  always  think  myself  obliged  by  a  free  com- 
munication of  sentiments,  and  have  often  thought,  (but 
suppose  I  thought  wrong,  as  it  did  not  accord  with  the 
practice  of  congress,)  that  the  public  interest  might  be 


*  All  of  the  New  England  members,  one  from  New  Jersey,  and  one  from 
Virginia,  supported  this  proposition. 


HAMILTON.  Cl 

benefited,  if  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  was  let 
more  into  the  political  and  pecuniary  state  of  our  affairs 
than  he  is.  Enterprises  and  the  adoption  of  military  and 
other  arrangements  that  might  be  exceedingly  proper  in 
some  circumstances,  would  be  altogether  improper  in 
others. 

It  follows  then  by  fair  deduction,  that  where  there  is  a 
want  of  information,  there  must  be  chance-medley  ;  and 
a  man  may  be  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice  before  he  is 
aware  of  his  danger,  when  a  little  foreknowledge  might 
enable  him  to  avoid  it.  But  this  by  the  by. 

The  hint  contained  in  your  letter,  and  the  knowledge  I 
have  derived  from  the  public  gazettes,  respecting  the  non- 
payment of  taxes,  contain  all  the  information  I  have  re- 
ceived of  the  danger  that  stares  us  in  the  face  on  account 
of  our  funds ;  and  so  far  was  I  from  conceiving  that  our 
finances  were  in  so  deplorable  a  state,  at  this  time,  that  I 
had  imbibed  ideas  from  some  source  or  another,  that  with 
the  prospect  of  a  loan  from  Holland  we  should  be  able  to 
rub  along.  To  you  who  have  seen  the  danger  to  which 
the  army  has  been  exposed  to  a  political  dissolution  for 
want  of  subsistence,  and  the  unhappy  spirit  of  licentious- 
ness which  it  imbibed  by  becoming  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances its  own  proveditors,  no  observations  are  necessary 
to  evince  the  fatal  tendency  of  such  a  measure  ;  but  I  shall 
give  it  as  my  opinion,  that  it  would  at  this  day  be  pro- 
ductive of  civil  commotions  and  end  in  blood. — Unhappy 
situation  this !  God  forbid  we  should  be  involved  in  it. 

The  predicament  in  which  I  stand,  as  citizen  soldier,  is 
as  critical  and  delicate  as  can  well  be  conceived.  It  has 
been  the  subject  of  many  contemplative  hours. 

The  sufferings  of  a  complaining  army  on  one  hand,  and 
the  inability  of  congress  and  tardiness  of  the  states  on  the 
other,  are  the  forebodings  of  evil,  and  may  be  productive 
of  events  which  are  more  to  be  deprecated  than  prevent- 


62  THELIFEOP 

ed ;  but  I  am  not  without  hope,  if  there  is  such  a  disposi- 
tion shown  as  prudence  and  policy  dictates  to  do  justice, 
your  apprehensions  in  case  of  peace  are  greater  than  there 
is  cause  for.  In  this,  however,  I  may  be  mistaken,  if 
those  ideas  which  you  have  been  informed  are  propagated 
in  the  army  should  be  extensive,  the  source  of  which  may 
be  easily  traced,  as  the  old  leaven,  it  is  said,  for  I  have  no 
proof  of  it,  is  again  beginning  to  work,  under  the  mask 
of  the  most  perfect  dissimulation  and  apparent  cordiality. 

Be  these  things  as  they  may,  I  shall  pursue  the  same 
steady  line  of  conduct  which  has  governed  me  hitherto, 
fully  convinced  that  the  sensible  and  discerning  part  of 
the  army  cannot  be  unacquainted  (although  I  never  took 
pains  to  inform  them)  of  the  services  I  have  rendered  it 
on  more  occasions  than  one.  This,  and  pursuing  the 
suggestions  of  your  letter,  which  I  am  happy  to  find  coin- 
cides with  my  own  practice  for  several  months  past,  and 
which  was  the  means  of  diverting  the  business  of  the 
army  into  the  channel  it  now  is,  leaves  me  under  no  great 
apprehensions  of  its  exceeding  the  bounds  of  reason  and 
moderation ;  notwithstanding,  the  prevailing  sentiment  in 
the  army  is,  that  the  prospect  of  compensation  for  past 
services  will  terminate  with  the  war. 

The  just  claims  of  the  army  ought,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  will  have  their  weight  with  every  sensible  legisla- 
ture in  the  union,  if  congress  point  to  their  demands,  show 
(if  the  case  is  so)  the  reasonableness  of  them,  and  the  im- 
practicability of  complying  without  their  aid.  In  any 
other  point  of  view,  it  would  in  my  opinion  be  impolitic  to 
bring  the  army  on  the  tapis,  lest  it  should  excite  jealousy 
and  bring  on  its  concomitants.  The  states  cannot,  surely, 
be  so  devoid  of  common  sense,  common  honesty,  and  com- 
mon policy,  as  to  refuse  their  aid  on  a  full,  clear,  and  can- 
did representation  of  facts  from  congress,  more  especially 
if  these  should  be  enforced  bv  members  of  their  own 


HAMILTON.  63 

body,  who  might  demonstrate  what  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences of  failure  must  lead  to.  In  my  opinion,  it  is 
worthy  of  consideration  how  far  an  adjournment  of  con- 
gress for  a  few  months  is  advisable.  The  delegates,  in 
that  case,  if  they  are  in  unison  themselves  respecting  the 
great  defects  of  their  constitution,  may  represent  them 
fully  and  boldly  to  their  constituents.  To  me,  who  know 
nothing  of  the  business  before  congress,  nor  of  the  arca- 
num, it  appears  that  such  a  measure  would  tend  to  pro- 
mote the  public  weal ;  for  it  is  clearly  my  opinion,  unless 
congress  have  powers  competent  to  all  general  purposes, 
that  the  distresses  we  have  encountered  and  the  blood  we 
have  spilt  in  the  course  of  an  eight  years'  war,  will  avail 
us  nothing. — The  contents  of  your  letter  is  known  only  to 
myself,  and  your  prudence  will  dictate  what  should  be 
done  with  this. 

With  great  esteem  and  regard. 

On  the  day  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Hamilton  wrote 
to  Washington,  suggesting  a  plan,  through  a  confidential 
person,  for  arresting  two  men  of  the  name  of  Knowlton 
and  Wells,  residents  of  Vermont,  charged  with  being  in 
correspondence  with  the  enemy.  A  surmise  that  the  vote 
for  their  detection  had  been  communicated  to  them  by  a 
member  of  congress,  added  to  the  motives  for  their  arrest. 
A  resolution  was  afterwards  passed,  requesting  the  execu- 
tives of  the  states  of  New-Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  New- York,  to  take  measures  to  bring  to  trial 
the  persons  charged  with  these  treasonable  practices. 

The  deputation  from  the  army,  after  an  attendance  on 
congress  of  nearly  two  months,  informed  it,  "  that  nothing 
of  any  moment  had  been  decided  for  them."  Their  letter 
reached  the  camp  at  the  same  time  with  the  information 
that  preliminary  articles  of  peace  had  been  concluded. 
This  intelligence,  hailed  with  delight  throughout  the  coun- 


64  THE    LIFE    OF 

tiy,  gave  to  the  army  a  keener  sense  of  injury.  Peace, 
which  their  valour  had  won,  they  believed  would  dissipate 
all  prospect  of  the  adjustment  of  their  demands.  Under 
this  impression,  their  discontents,  which  had  been  a  long 
time  increasing,  broke  forth ;  and  at  this  moment  of  dan- 
gerous excitement,  the  event  which  Hamilton  had  antici- 
pated in  the  preceding  letter  occurred. 

On  the  tenth  of  March,  an  anonymous  notice  was  cir- 
culated, calling  a  meeting  of  the  general  and  field-officers 
and  of  a  commissioned  officer  of  each  company,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  "  to  consider  what  measures,  if  any,  should 
be  taken  to  obtain  that  redress  of  grievances  which  they 
seem  to  have  solicited  in  vain." 

At  the  same  moment  another  paper  without  a  signature 
was  clandestinely  circulated,  addressed  to  the  angered 
feelings  of  the  officers. 

After  remarking  that  "he  had  till  lately,  very  lately, 
believed  in  the  justice  of  his  country,"  the  writer  ap- 
pealed to  the  resentment  of  the  army,  and  asked — Is 
it  "a  country  willing  to  redress  your  wrongs,  cherish 
your  worth,  and  reward  your  services  ?  Is  this  the 
case  ?  Or  is  it  rather  a  country  that  tramples  upon 
your  rights,  disdains  your  cries,  and  insults  your  dis- 
tresses ?  If  this  be  then  your  treatment  while  the  SWORDS 
you  wear  are  necessary  for  the  defence  of  America,  what 
have  you  to  expect  from  peace,  when  your  voice  shall 
sink,  and  your  strength  dissipate  by  division  ? — when 
those  very  SWORDS,  the  instruments  and  companions  of 
your  glory,  shall  be  taken  from  your  sides,  and  no  remain- 
ing mark  of  military  distinction  left,  but  your  wants,  in- 
firmities, and  scars  ?" — "  If  your  spirits  should  revolt  at 
this  ;  if  you  have  sense  enough  to  discover  and  spirit  suf- 
ficient to  oppose  TYRANNY,  whatever  garb  it  may  assume, 
— if  you  have  yet  learned  to  discriminate  between  a  peo- 
ple and  a  cause,,  between  men  and  principles — awake,  at- 


II  AMU  TON.  65 

tend  to  your  situation,  and  redress  yourselves !  If  the 
present  moment  be  lost,  every  future  effort  is  in  vain,  and 
your  threats  then,  will  be  as  empty  as  your  entreaties  now. 
I  would  advise  you,  therefore,  to  come  to  some  final  opin- 
ion upon  what  you  can  bear  and  what  you  can  suffer. 
If  your  determination  be  in  any  proportion  to  your 
wrongs,  carry  your  appeal  from  the  JUSTICE  to  the  FEARS 
of  government — change  the  milk-and-water  style  of  your 
last  memorial — assume  a  bolder  tone,  decent,  but  lively, 
spirited,  and  determined  ;  and — suspect  the  Man,  who 
would  advise  to  more  moderation  and  longer  forbearance" 
"  That  in  any  political  event,  the  army  has  its  alternative — 
if  peace,  that  nothing  shall  separate  them  from  their  arms 
but  death  ;  if  war,  that,  courting  the  auspices  and  inviting 
the  direction  of  their  illustrious  leader,  they  will  retire  to 
some  unsettled  country,  smile  in  their  turn,  and  "mock 
when  their  fear  cometh  on."  "But  were  their  requests 
complied  with — in  war,  they  would  follow  the  standard 
of  congress  to  the  field ;  and  when  it  came  to  an  end, 
would  withdraw  into  the  shade,  and  give  the  world  an- 
other subject  of  wonder  and  applause — an  army,  victorious 
over  its  enemies,  victorious  over  itself." 

To  prevent  any  intemperate  or  dangerous  resolutions 
being  taken  at  this  perilous  moment,  while  their  passions 
were  all  inflamed,  Washington  the  following  morning  is- 
sued a  general  order  disapproving  "  these  disorderly  pro- 
ceedings," and  convening  the  officers  on  the  15th  of  March, 
to  exercise  a  "  mature  deliberation." 

The  evening  of  the  day  on  which  this  order  was  issued, 
a  second  anonymous  address  was  circulated.  In  this  pa- 
per, after  urging  that  "suspicion,  detestable  as  it  is  in 
private  life,  is  the  loveliest  trait  of  political  characters," 
the  writer  artfully  suggests  that  the  general  order  of 
Washington  ought  to  be  deemed  an  approval  of  his  pre- 
vious address,  "  as  giving  system  to  their  proceedings  and 

9 


66  THELIFEOP 

stability  to  their  resolves,  and  furnishing  a  new  motive  for 
that  energy  which  had  been  recommended." 

This  insidious  attempt  to  keep  alive  the  irritation  of  the 
army,  and  prepare  them  for  violent  measures,  it  required 
all  the  address  and  the  influence  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  parry.  He  at  this  moment  unbosomed  himself 
to  Hamilton,  indicating  that  he  had  adopted  the  wise 
course  suggested  to  him,  that  "  of  taking  the  direction  of 
the  measures  to  procure  redress." 

Newburgh,  March  12th,  1783. 
DEAR  SIR, 

When  I  wrote  to  you  last,  we  were  in  a  state  of  tran- 
quillity, but  after  the  arrival  of  a  certain  gentleman,  who 
shall  be  nameless  at  present,  from  Philadelphia,  a  storm 
very  suddenly  arose,  with  unfavourable  prognostics,  which, 
though  diverted  for  a  moment,  is  not  yet  blown  over,  nor 
is  it  in  my  power  to  point  to  the  issue.  The  papers  which 
I  send  officially  to  congress,  will  supersede  the  necessity 
of  my  remarking  on  the  tendency  of  them.  The  notifica- 
tion and  address  both  appeared  at  the  same  instant ;  on 
the  day  preceding  the  intended  meeting,  the  first  of  these 
I  got  hold  of  the  same  afternoon — the  other,  not  till  the 
next  morning. 

There  is  something  very  mysterious  in  this  business. 
It  appears,  reports  have  been  propagated  at  Philadelphia, 
that  dangerous  combinations  were  forming  in  the  army, 
and  this  at  a  time  when  there  was  not  a  syllable  of  the 
kind  in  agitation  in  camp. 

It  also  appears,  that  upon  the  arrival  in  camp  of  the 
gentleman  above  alluded  to,  such  sentiments  as  these  were 
immediately  circulated : — That  it  was  universally  expected 
the  army  would  not  disband  until  they  had  obtained  jus- 
tice. That  the  public  creditors  "  looked  upon  them  for 
redress  of  their  own  grievances,  would  afford  them  every 


HAMILTON.  67 

aid,  and  even  join  them  in  the  field,  if  necessary  ;  that 
some  members  of  congress  wished  the  measure  might  take 
effect,  in  order  to  compel  the  public,  particularly  the  de- 
linquent states,  to  do  justice  ;  with  many  other  suggestions 
of  a  similar  nature. 

From  this,  and  a  variety  of  other  considerations,  it  is 
firmly  believed  by  some,  the  scheme  was  not  only  planned, 
but  also  digested  and  matured  at  Philadelphia ;  by  oth- 
ers, that  it  is  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  a  person  in  the 
army ;  but  my  own  opinion  shall  be  suspended  till  I  have 
better  ground  to  found  one  on.  The  matter  was  managed 
with  great  art ;  for  as  soon  as  the  minds  of  the  officers 
were  thought  to  be  prepared  for  the  transaction,  the 
anonymous  invitations  and  address  to  the  officers  were 
put  in  circulation  through  every  state  line  in  the  army.  I 
was  obliged,  therefore,  in  order  to  arrest  on  the  spot  the 
feet  that  stood  wavering  on  a  tremendous  precipice,  to 
prevent  the  officers  from  being  taken  by  surprise,  while 
the  passions  were  all  inflamed,  and  to  rescue  them  from 
plunging  themselves  into  a  gulf  of  civil  horror  from 
which  there  might  be  no  receding,  to  issue  the  order  of 
the  eleventh.  This  was  done  upon  the  principle  that  it  is 
easier  to  divert  from  a  wrong,  and  point  to  a  right  path, 
than  it  is  to  recall  the  hasty  and  fatal  steps  which  have 
been  already  taken. 

It  is  commonly  supposed,  if  the  officers  had  met  agree- 
ably to  the  anonymous  summons,  with  their  feelings  all 
alive,  resolutions  might  have  been  formed,  the  conse- 
quences of  which  may  be  more  easily  conceived  than 
described.  Now  they  will  have  leisure  to  view  the  mat- 
ter more  calmly,  and  will  act  more  seriously.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  they  will  be  induced  to  adopt  more  rational  meas- 
ures, and  wait  a  while  longer  for  a  settlement  of  their 
accounts,  the  postponing  of  which  appears  to  be  the  most 
plausible,  and  almost  the  only  article  of  which  designing 


68  THELIFEOF 

men  can  make  an  improper  use,  by  insinuating  (which 
they  really  do)  that  it  is  done  with  the  design  that  peace 
may  take  place,  and  prevent  any  adjustment  of  accounts 
which,  say  they,  would  inevitably  be  the  case  if  the  war 
were  to  cease  to-morrow ;  or  supposing  the  best,  you 
would  have  to  dance  attendance  at  public  offices  at  great 
distances,  perhaps,  and  equally  great  expenses  to  obtain  a 
settlement,  which  would  be  highly  injurious,  nay,  ruinous 
to  you. 

This  is  their  language.  Let  me  beseech  you  therefore,  my 
good  sir,  to  urge  this  matter  earnestly,  and  without  further 
delay.  The  situation  of  these  gentlemen,  I  do  verily  believe, 
is  distressing  beyond  description.  It  is  affirmed  to  me. 
that  a  large  part  of  them  have  no  better  prospect  before 
them  than  a  jail,  if  they  are  turned  loose  without  liquida- 
tion of  accounts,  and  an  assurance  of  that  justice  to  which 
they  are  so  worthily  entitled.  To  prevail  on  the  delegates 
of  those  states  through  whose  means  these  difficulties  oc- 
cur, it  may,  in  my  opinion,  with  propriety  be  suggested 
to  them,  if  any  disastrous  consequences  should  follow  by 
reason  of  their  delinquency,  that  they  must  be  answerable 
to  God  and  their  country  for  the  ineffable  horrors  which 
may  be  occasioned  thereby. 

P.  S. — I  am  this  instant  informed  that  a  second  address 
to  the  officers,  distinguished  No.  2,  is  thrown  into  circula- 
tion. The  contents  evidently  prove,  that  the  author  is  in 
or  near  camp,  and  that  the  following  words,  erased  on  the 
second  page  of  this  letter,  ought  not  to  have  met  with  this 
treatment,  viz. :  "  By  others,  it  is  the  illegitimate  offspring 
of  a  person  in  the  army." 

On  the  receipt  of  this  communication,  Hamilton  replied, 
giving  a  lively  exhibition  of  his  feelings  and  of  the  public 
affairs. 


HAMILTON.  69 

Philadelphia,  March  17th,  1783. 
SIR, 

I  am  duly  honoured  with  your  excellency's  letters 
of  the  fourth  and  twelfth  instant.  It  is  much  to  be  regret- 
ted, though  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  steps  of  so  inflam- 
matory a  tendency  have  been  taken  in  the  army.  Your 
excellency  has,  in  my  opinion,  acted  wisely.  The  best 
way  is  ever,  not  to  attempt  to  stem  a  torrent,  but  to 
divert  it. 

I  am  happy  to  find  you  coincide  in  opinion  with  me  on 
the  conduct  proper  to  be  observed  by  yourself.  I  am 
persuaded  more  and  more,  it  is  that  which  is  most  con- 
sistent with  your  own  reputation  and  the  public  safety. 
Our  affairs  wear  a  most  serious  aspect,  as  well  foreign  as 
domestic.  Before  this  gets  to  hand,  your  excellency  will 
probably  have  seen  the  provisional  articles  between  Great 
Britain  and  these  states.  It  might,  at  first  appearance, 
be  concluded  that  these  will  be  preludes  to  a  general 
peace.  But  there  are  strong  reasons  to  doubt  the  truth 
of  such  a  conclusion.  Obstacles  may  arise  from  different 
quarters — from  the  demands  of  Spain  and  Holland,  from 
the  hope  in  France  of  greater  acquisitions  in  the  east,  and 
perhaps  still  more  probably,  from  the  insincerity  and  du- 
plicity of  Lord  Shelburne,  whose  politics,  founded  in  the 
peculiarity  of  his  situation,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the 
man,  may  well  be  suspected  of  insidiousness.  I  am  really 
apprehensive,  if  peace  does  not  take  place,  that  the  nego- 
tiations will  lead  to  sow  distrust  among  the  allies,  and 
weaken  the  force  of  the  common  league.  We  have,  I 
fear,  men  among  us,  and  men  in  trust,  who  have  a  hanker- 
ing after  British  connection.  We  have  others,  whose 
confidence  in  France  savours  of  credulity.  The  intrigues 
of  the  former,  and  incautiousness  of  the  latter,  may  be 
both,  though  in  different  degrees,  injurious  to  the  Ameri- 


70*  THELIFEOF 

can  interest,  and  make  it  difficult  for  prudent  men  to  steer 
a  proper  course. 

There  are  delicate  circumstances  with  respect  to  the 
late  foreign  transactions,  which  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  re- 
veal, but  which,  joined  to  our  internal  disorders,  follies, 
weaknesses,  and  prejudices,  make  this  country  stand  upon 
precarious  ground.  Some  use,  perhaps,  may  be  made  of 
these  ideas  to  induce  moderation  in  the  army.  An  opin- 
ion that  this  country  does  not  stand  upon  a  secure  footing, 
will  operate  upon  the .  patriotism  of  the  officers  against 
hazarding  any  domestic  commotions.  When  I  make  these 
observations,  I  cannot  forbear  adding,  that  if  no  excesses 
take  place,  I  shall  not  be  sorry  that  ill  humours  have  ap- 
peared. I  shall  not  regret  importunity,  if  temperate,  from 
the  army. 

There  are  good  resolutions  in  the  majority  of  congress, 
but  there  is  not  sufficient  wisdom  or  discretion.  There 
are  dangerous  prejudices  in  the  particular  states,  opposed 
to  those  measures  which  alone  can  give  stability  and 
prosperity  to  the  union.  There  is  a  fatal  opposition  to 
continental  views.  Necessity  alone  can  work  a  reform ; 
but  how  apply  it,  and  how  keep  it  within  salutary  bounds  ? 
I  fear  we  have  been  contending  for  a  shadow.  The  affair 
of  accounts  I  considered  as  having  been  put  upon  a  satis- 
factory footing.  The  particular  states  have  been  required 
to  settle  'till  the  first  of  August,  '80,  and  the  superin- 
tendent of  finance  has  been  directed  to  take  measures  for 
settling  since  that  period.  I  shall  immediately  see  him  on 
the  subject.  We  have  had  eight  states  and  a  half  in 
favour  of  a  commmutation  of  the  half-pay,  for  an  average 
of  five  years'  purchase  ;  that  is,  five  years'  full  pay,  instead 
of  half-pay  for  life  ;  which,  on  a  calculation  of  annuities, 
is  nearly  an  equivalent.  I  hope  this  will  now  shortly  take 
place.  We  have  made  considerable  progress  in  a  plan,  to 
be  recommended  to  the  several  states,  for  funding  all  of 


HAMILTON.  71 

the  public  debts,  including  those  of  the  army ;  which  is 
certainly  the  only  way  to  restore  public  credit,  and  enable 
us  to  continue  the  war,  by  borrowing  abroad,  if  it  should 
be  necessary  to  continue  it. 

I  omitted  mentioning  to  your  excellency,  that  from 
European  intelligence,  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  at 
all  events,  peace  or  war,  New-York  will  be  evacuated  in 
the  spring.  It  will  be  a  pity  if  any  domestic  disturbance 
should  change  the  plans  of  the  British  court. 

P.  S. — Your  excellency  mentions,  that  it  has  been  sur- 
mised the  plan  in  agitation  was  formed  in  Philadelphia ; 
that  combinations  have  been  talked  of  between  the  public 
creditors  and  the  army,  and  that  members  of  congress 
had  encouraged  the  idea.  This  is  partly  true.  I  have 
myself  urged  in  congress  the  propriety  of  uniting  the  in- 
fluence of  the  public  creditors,  and  the  army  as  a  part  of 
them,  to  prevail  upon  the  states  to  enter  into  their  views. 
I  have  expressed  the  same  sentiments  out  of  doors.  Sev- 
eral other  members  of  congress  have  done  the  same.  The 
meaning,  however,  of  all  this  was,  simply  that  congress 
should  adopt  such  a  plan  as  would  embrace  the  relief  of 
all  the  public  creditors,  including  the  army,  in  order  that 
the  personal  influence  of  some,  the  connections  of  others, 
and  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  army,  as  well  as  the  appre- 
hension of  ill  consequences,  might  form  a  mass  of  influence 
in  each  state  in  favour  of  the  measures  of  congress.  In 
this  view,  as  I  mentioned  to  your  excellency  in  a  former 
letter,  I  thought  the  discontents  of  the  army  might  be 
turned  to  a  good  account.  I  am  still  of  opinion  that  their 
earnest  but  respectful  applications  for  redress  will  have  a 
good  effect.  As  to  any  combination  of  force,  it  would 
only  be  productive  of  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war,  might 
end  in  the  ruin  of  the  country,  and  would  certainly  end 
in  the  ruin  of  the  army." 


72  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  officers  assembled  on  the  appointed  day,  and  Gates, 
the  second  in  command,  whose  intrigues  were  suspected, 
was  called  to  preside.  They  met  in  an  humble  school- 
house,  on  an  acclivity  that  rises  from  the  Hudson,  yet 
bound  in  fetters — for  winter  still  maintained  her  sway 
among  the  mountains,  which  overcast  the  scene  with  their 
long  and  gloomy  shadows. 

All  around  them  was  rugged  and  drear,  in  unison  with 
the  stern  and  indignant  sense  of  unrewarded  sacrifices, 
broken  faith,  and  baffled  hopes,  which  lowered  over  their 
countenances. 

Washington,  who  had  never  been  greeted  but  with  af- 
fection, was  received  with  cold  and  calm  respect.  It 
appeared  as  though  sedition  had  felt  it  necessary  to  com- 
mence her  secret  work  by  engendering  suspicions  against 
the  Father  of  his  country ! — He  arose  :  he  felt  the  es- 
trangement— he  paused,  and  he  doubted  of  the  issue.  As 
he  uncovered  his  venerated  head,  and  was  about  to  address 
them  from  a  written  paper  in  his  hand,  his  eye  grew  dim, 
and  he  uttered  this  pathetic,  unpremeditated  remark  : — 
"Fellow-soldiers,  you  perceive  I  have  not  only  grown 
gray,  but  blind  in  your  service."  After  commenting  on 
the  impropriety  of  the  anonymous  papers,  addressed  more 
to  the  feelings  and  passions,  than  to  the  reason  and  judg- 
ment of  the  army,  he  repelled  the  insidious  imputation  on 
himself: — "The  author  of  the  piece  should  have  had  more 
charity  than  to  mark  for  suspicion  the  man  who  should  re- 
commend moderation  and  longer  forbearance,  or,  in  other 
words,  should  not  think  as  he  thinks,  and  act  as  he  ad- 
vises. But  he  had  another  plan  in  view,  in  which  can- 
dour and  liberality  of  sentiment  have  no  part,  and  he  was 
right  to  insinuate  the  darkest  suspicions  to  effect  the  black- 
est designs « But  how,'  after  indicating  the  object 

of  these  addresses,  '  but  how  are  the  interests  of  the  army 
to  be  promoted  ?  The  way  is  plain,'  says  the  writer, — '  If 


HAMILTON.  73 

war  continues,  remove  into  the  unsettled  country ;  there 
establish  yourselves,  and  leave  an  ungrateful  country  to 
defend  itself.'  But  whom  are  they  to  defend  ?  Our  wives, 
our  children,  our  farms  and  other  property,  which  we 
leave  behind  us  ?  Or  in  the  state  of  hostile  separation,  are 
we  to  take  the  two  first,  (the  latter  cannot  be  removed,) 
to  perish  in  a  wilderness  with  hunger,  cold,  and  nakedness  ? 
If  peace  takes  place,  '  never  sheathe  your  swords,'  says 
he, '  until  you  have  obtained  full  and  ample  justice.'  This 
dreadful  alternative,  of  either  deserting  our  country  in  the 
extremest  hour  of  her  distress,  or  turning  our  arms  against 
it,  which  is  the  apparent  object,  unless  congress  can  be 
compelled  into  instant  compliance,  has  something  so  shock- 
ing in  it  that  humanity  revolts  at  the  idea.  My  God  !  what 
can  this  writer  have  in  view,  by  recommending  such  meas- 
ures ?  Can  he  be  a  friend  to  the  army  ?  Can  he  be  a 
friend  to  the  country  ?  Rather,  is  he  not  an  insidious  foe  ? 
some  emissary,  perhaps,  from  New- York,  plotting  the  ruin 
of  both,  by  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord  and  separation 
between  the  civil  and  military  powers  of  the  continent  ?" 
Recurring  to  the  insidious  imputation  which  he  felt  was 
levelled  directly  at  himself,  he  remarked — "  With  respect  to 
the  advice  given  by  the  author,  '  to  suspect  the  man  who 
shall  recommend  moderation  and  longer  forbearance,'  / 
spurn  at  it,  as  every  man  who  regards  thai  liberty  and  re- 
veres that  justice  for  which  we  contend,  undoubtedly  must." 
After  this  strong  avowal  of  his  contempt  for  this  attack  up- 
on himself,  and  after  renewing  the  pledge  of  his  exertions  in 
their  behalf,  he  concluded : — "  Let  me  conjure  you,  in  the 
name  of  our  common  country,  as  you  value  your  own 
sacred  honour,  as  you  respect  the  sacred  rights  of  humani- 
ty, and  as  you  regard  the  military  and  national  character 
of  America,  to  express  your  utmost  horror  and  detestation 
of  the  man  who  wishes,  under  any  specious  pretences,  to 
overturn  the  liberties  of  our  country,  and  who  wickedly  at- 

10 


74  THE    LIFE    OF 

tempts  to  open  the  flood-gates  of  civil  discord  and  deluge  our 
rising  empire  with  blood  /" 

Awed  by  the  majesty  of  his  virtue,  and  touched  with 
his  interest  in  their  sufferings,  every  soldier's  eye  was  filled 
with  a  generous  tear  ;  they  reproved  themselves  for  having 
doubted  him  who  had  never  deceived  them ;  they  forgot 
their  wrongs,  in  the  love  of  their  country  and  of  their 
chief;  their  first  act  was  to  reciprocate  thanks  for  the 
affection  he  had  shown  them ;  their  next,  to  declare  "  their 
unshaken  confidence  in  the  justice  of  congress  and  their 
country,"  and  their  "  abhorrence,  and  disdain"  at  the  infa- 
mous propositions  contained  in  the  late  address  and  machi- 
nations of  designing  men,  "  to  sow  discord  between  the 
civil  and  military  powers  of  the  United  States." 

The  conjecture  in  the  erased  paragraph  of  Washington's 
letter  to  Hamilton,  fell  upon  a  person  at  that  time  in  the 
family  of  General  Gates  ;  but  though  public  opinion  had 
fixed  the  address  upon  him,  its  source  was  not  for  a  long 
time  acknowledged. 

It  was  at  last  publicly  avowed  by  Major  John  Arm- 
strong, then  the  aid-de-camp  and  instrument  of  Gates, 
accompanied  with  a  vindication  of  his  motives.*  In  this 
publication,  the  extract  of  a  letter  from  Gates  to  Arm- 
strong is  given,  in  which  he  says — "  As  Gordon  is  an  old 
friend  and  an  honest  man,  I  have  answered  him  frankly, 
that  the  letters  were  written  in  my  quarters  by  you,  copied 
by  Richmond  and  circulated  by  Barker,  and  were  intended 
to  produce  a  strong  remonstrance  to  congress  in  favour 
of  the  object  prayed  for  in  a  former  one,  and  that  the 
conjecture  that  it  was  meant  to  offer  the  crown  to  Csesar,f 

*  Subsequently  appointed  by  Jefferson  minister  to  France,  and  secretary 
at  war  by  Madison. 

t  In  May,  1782,  Colonel  Nicola  wrote  to  Washington  suggesting  the  in. 
troduction  of  a  monarchy,  and  was  indignantly  rebuked.  In  a  note  upon 
this  correspondence,  8  Washington's  Writings,  302,  this  comment  is  found :— 


HAMILTON.  75 

was  without  any  foundation."  Thus  is  confirmed  the  sus- 
picion alluded  to  by  Washington,  that  "the  old  leaven 
was  at  work." 

Gates  is  exhibited  in  the  extraordinary  position  of  pre- 
siding at  the  meeting  of  officers,  and  signing  resolutions 
which  denounced,  "  as  a  machination  of  designing  men  to 
sow  discord  between  the  civil  and  military  powers  of  the 
United  States,"  a  production  written  in  his  own  quarters, 
by  his  own  aid,  and  with  every  step  in  the  progress  where- 
of to  publicity  he  was  familiar — a  procedure  he  described 
as  merely  "  intended  to  produce  a  strong  remonstrance  to 
congress"  in  behalf  of  the  army. 

Upon  the  reception  of  the  intelligence  from  head-quar- 
ters of  the  conclusion  of  this  affair,  Colonel  Hamilton  in- 
troduced a  report,  which  was  adopted,  paying  a  just  tribute 
to  Washington  and  the  officers.  "  That  congress  consider 
the  conduct  of  the  commander-in-chief  on  the  occasion 
of  some  late  attempts  to  create  disturbances  in  the  army, 
as  a  new  proof  of  his  prudence  and  zealous  attention  to 
the  welfare  of  the  community ;  that  he  be  informed  that 
congress  also  entertain  a  high  sense  of  the  patriotic  senti- 
ments expressed  by  the  officers  in  their  proceedings,  which 
evince  their  unshaken  perseverance  in  those  principles 


"  There  was  unquestionably  at  this  time,  and  for  some  time  afterwards, 
a  party  in  the  army,  neither  small  in  number  nor  insignificant  in  character, 
prepared  to  second  and  sustain  a  measure  of  this  kind,  which  they  conceived 
necessary  to  strengthen  the  civil  power  and  draw  out  the  resources  of  the 
country,  and  establish  a  durable  government."  It  is  more  probable  that  this 
letter  originated  in  a  plot  to  ruin  Washington,  of  which  Nicola,  a  weak  and 
aged  foreigner,  was  the  ignorant  instrument.  No  evidence  has  been  met 
with  of  the  existence  of  such  a  party  in  the  army.  Indeed,  such  a  design 
was  too  preposterous  to  have  been  seriously  entertained.  One  of  the  most 
pleasing  traits  of  Washington's  character  was,  his  affection  and  confidence 
in  the  officers  of  the  revolution.  One  of  these  was  the  object  of  his  abhor- 
rence, and  that  one,  it  will  appear,  entertained  such  opinions.  But  he  was  at 
this  period,  if  not  "  insignificant  in  character,"  a  person  of  little  weight. 


76  THELIFEOF 

which  have  distinguished  them  in  every  period  of  the 
war,  and  have  so  justly  entitled  the  troops  of  the  United 
States  to  the  esteem  and  gratitude  of  their  country,  and 
to  the  character  of  a  PATRIOT  ARMY." 

The  termination  of  the  contest  now  presented  to  the 
contemplation  of  Hamilton  many  and  most  serious  reflec- 
tions as  to  the  future  condition  of  the  confederacy.  He 
felt  all  the  value  of  Washington  to  his  country,  and  thus 
adverted  to  the  great  part  which  he  would  be  called  on  to 
perform  in  giving  strength  and  durability  to  the  Union. 

"  Your  excellency  will,  before  this  reaches  you,  have  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  inform- 
ing you,  that  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  between  all  the 
belligerent  powers,  have  been  concluded.  I  congratulate 
your  excellency  on  this  happy  conclusion  of  your  labours. 
It  now  only  remains,  to  make  solid  establishments  within, 
to  PERPETUATE  OUR  UNION,  to  prevent  our  being  a  ball  in 
the  hands  of  European  powers,  bandied  against  each  other 
at  their  pleasure ;  in  fine,  to  make  our  independence  truly 
a  blessing.  This,  it  is  to  be  lamented,  will  be  an  arduous 
work  ;  for,  to  borrow  a  figure  from  mechanics,  the  centri- 
fugal is  much  stronger  than  the  centripetal  force  in  these 
states.  The  seeds  of  disunion  are  much  more  numerous 
than  those  of  union.  I  will  add,  that  your  excellency's 
exertions  are  as  essential  to  accomplish  this  end,  as  they 
have  been  to  establish  independence.  I  will  upon  a  future 
occasion  open  myself  upon  this  subject.  Your  conduct  in 
the  affair  of  the  officers  is  highly  pleasing  here.  The 
measures  of  the  army  are  such  as  I  could  have  wished 
them,  and  will  add  lustre  to  their  character,  as  well  as 
strengthen  the  hands  of  congress." 

On  the  thirty-first  of  March,  General  Washington  re- 
plied : — 


THELIFEOF  77 

"DEAR  SIR, 

"  I  have  duly  received  your  favours  of  the  17th  and 
24th  ult.  I  rejoice  most  exceedingly  there  is  an  end  to 
our  warfare,  and  that  such  a  field  is  open  to  our  view, 
as  will,  with  wisdom  to  direct  the  cultivation  of  it,  make 
us  a  great,  a  respectable,  and  a  happy  people  ;  but  it  must 
be  improved  by  other  means  than  state  politics,  and  unrea- 
sonable jealousies  and  prejudices,  or,  (it  requires  not  the  se- 
cond-sight to  see  that)  we  shall  be  instruments  in  the  hands 
of  our  enemies,  and  those  European  powers  who  may  be 
jealous  of  our  greatness  in  union,  to  dissolve  the  confedera- 
tion ;  but  to  attain  this,  although  the  way  seems  extremely 
plain,  is  not  so  easy.  My  wish  to  see  the  union  of  these 
states  established  upon  liberal  and  permanent  principles, 
and  inclination  to  contribute  my  mite  in  pointing  out 
the  defects  of  the  present  constitution,  are  equally  great. 
All  my  private  letters  have  teemed  with  these  sentiments, 
and  wherever  this  topic  has  been  the  subject  of  conversa- 
tion, I  have  endeavoured  to  diffuse  and  enforce  them ;  but 
how  far  any  further  essay  by  me  might  be  productive  of 
the  wished-for  end,  or  appear  to  arrogate  more  than  be- 
longs to  me,  depends  so  much  upon  popular  opinion,  and 
the  temper  and  disposition  of  people,  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  decide.  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you,  however,  for  the 
thoughts  which  you  have  promised  me  on  this  subject, 
and  as  soon  as  you  can  make  it  convenient.  No  man  in 
the  United  States  is  or  can  be  more  deeply  impressed  with 
the  necessity  of  a  reform  in  our  present  confederation, 
than  myself.  No  man,  perhaps,  has  felt  the  bad  effects  of 
it  more  sensibly ;  for  to  the  defects  thereof,  and  want  of 
powers  in  congress,  may  justly  be  ascribed  the  prolonga- 
tion of  the  war,  and,  consequently,  the  expenses  occasion- 
ed by  it.  More  than  half  of  the  perplexities  I  have  ex- 
perienced in  the  course  of  my  command,  and  almost  the 
whole  of  the  difficulties  and  distress  of  the  army,  have 


78  THELIFEOF 

their  origin  here ;  but  still,  the  prejudices  of  some,  the  de- 
signs of  others,  and  the  mere  machinery  of  the  majority, 
makes  address  and  management  necessary  to  give  weight 
to  opinions  which  are  to  combat  the  doctrines  of  these 
different  classes  of  men  in  the  field  of  politics.  I  would 
have  been  more  full  on  this  subject,  but  the  bearer  (in  the 
clothing  department)  is  waiting. 

"  I  wish  you  may  understand  what  I  have  written." 

The  friends  of  the  army  had  continued  to  press  their 
claims.  When  the  former  vote  was  taken  in  relation  to 
them,  Delaware  was  not  represented.  Her  delegates  were 
induced  to  proceed  to  Philadelphia,  and  on  the  tenth  of 
March,  the  day  upon  which  the  seditious  notice  was  issued 
at  Newburgh,  the  report  having  been  so  amended  as  to 
omit  a  provision  for  the  widows  of  the  officers  who  should 
die  in  the  service,  the  question  was  again  taken,  and  eight 
states  voted  in*  favor  of  it.  A  few  days  after  this  deci- 
sion, intelligence  was  received  of  the  alarming  proceed- 
ings at  Newburgh,  and  those  whom  gratitude  and  a  sense 
of  justice  had  not  influenced,  yielded  to  their  fears.  But 
at  the  last  moment  a  serious  difficulty  arose  from  an  ap- 
prehension of  the  injurious  effect  upon  the  public  credit 
which  might  result  from  the  sudden  alienation,  at  an  under 
value,  of  so  large  a  mass  of  certificates,  and  it  was  pro- 
posed that  they  should  not  be  transferable.  The  delega- 
tion from  the  army  spurned  the  idea,  justly  asked  if  they 
were  not  freemen,  if  the  balances  were  not  their  property, 
and  insisted  to  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  every 
other  creditor.  This  objection  was  too  forcible  to  be  an- 
swered. It  prevailed,  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  March, 
nine  states  concurred  in  granting  a  commutation.  The 


*  The  vote  of  Connecticut  was  divided ;  New-Hampshire,  Rhode  Island, 
and  NewJersey,  (Boudinot  excepted,)  voted  against  it. 


HAMILTON.  79 

resolution  making  this  grant,  stated  that  congress  was  de- 
sirous as  well  of  gratifying  the  reasonable  expectations  of 
the  officers  of  the  army,  as  of  removing  all  objections 
which  may  exist  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  to  the 
principle  of  the  half-pay  establishment,  for  which  the  faith 
of  the  United  States  had  been  pledged ;  persuaded  that 
those  objections  can  only  arise  from  the  nature  of  the 
compensation,  not  from  any  indisposition  to  compensate 
those  whose  services,  sacrifices,  and  sufferings,  have  so 
just  a  title  to  the  approbation  and  rewards  of  their  coun- 
try.* This  resolution  was  from  the  pen  of  Hamilton. 
Thus  he  was  the  instrument  of  accomplishing  that  meas- 
ure which  he  had  suggested  in  the  formation  of  the  mili- 
tary establishment ;  triumphing  over  the  reluctant  justice 
of  the  states,  and  discharging  that  sacred  debt,  his  in- 
terest in  which,  delicacy  had  induced  him  to  relinquish.f 

*  The  resolution  granted  securities  for  five  years'  full  pay,  bearing  an  in- 
terest  of  six  per  cent. ;  to  be  such  as  were  to  be  given  to  the  other  public 
creditors.  The  army  demands  now  assumed  the  form  of  a  settled  debt ;  and 
though  the  requisitions  of  congress  were  unsuccessful,  several  states  for  a 
long  time  paid  the  stipulated  interest. 

t  Previous  to  the  discussion  of  the  army  claims,  he  addressed  a  note  to  the 
secretary  at  war,  renouncing  his  claim  to  half-pay. 


80  THELIFEOF 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

[1783.] 

THE  intelligence  of  peace  diffused  a  general  joy  through- 
out the  American  continent. 

The  arduous  conflict  was  ended ;  and  without  any  de- 
grading circumstance,  or  any  sacrifice  of  national  honour, 
the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  was  acknowledged. 
France  also  stood  in  a  commanding  position,  enjoying 
the  singular  distinction  of  having  promoted  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  two  greatest  republics  in  the  old  and  new 
world — relieving  the  United  Provinces  in  their  struggle 
with  Spain,  during  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Fourth,  and 
aiding  the  revolution  of  these  united  colonies  in  that  of 
Louis  the  Sixteenth. 

When  adverting  to  these  circumstances,  the  similar 
policy  pursued  by  either  potentate,  arrests  attention. 
Henry  was  in  treaty  with  Spain ;  Louis,  with  England. 
Both  hesitated*  as  to  the  obligations  of  these  treaties ; 
both  disregarded  them.  Each  commenced  with  secret 
aids  ;  each  terminated  in  open  war  ;  nor  were  the  results 
unlike.  In  both  instances,  France  was  actuated  by  mo- 


*  Louis,  with  a  prophetic  fear,  was  opposed  to  this  interference  ;  an  opin- 
ion in  which  Turgot  concurred.  Maurepas  and  Vergennes,  sustained  by 
the  jurists  Favier  and  Pfeffel,  took  the  opposite  view.  Hume  justly  con- 
trasts the  conduct  of  James  the  First  with  that  of  Henry. — History  of  Great 
Britain,  v.  6,  p.  23.  Sully  reproaches  him  for  not  having  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  France.  "  But  what  can  be  expected  from  persons  who  neither 
know  how  to  seize  opportunities  as  they  offer,  to  execute  any  thing  boldly, 
or  even  to  desire  any  thing  with  steadiness  ?" — Lib.  24. 


HAMILTON.  81 

tives  of  policy ;  in  both,  she  deceived  her  ally ;  in 
neither,  did  she  derive  any  permanent  benefit  from  her 
intervention. 

M onarchs  change,  but  centuries  produce  few  changes  in 
the  morals  of  despotic  courts. 

The  attention  of  congress  had  been  withdrawn  by  this 
event  from  the  provision  for  the  public  debt,  and  from  the 
urgent  claims  of  the  army. 

The  influence  exerted  by  Hamilton  in  determining  the 
subsequent  policy  of  the  United  States  towards  other  na- 
tions, and  the  decisive  bearing  which  that  policy  had,  both 
upon  his  own  fortunes  and  upon  those  of  this  country,  in- 
dicate the  necessity  of  a  retrospect  of  some  of  the  lead- 
ing circumstances  which  mark  the  character  of  our  early 
diplomacy.  If  this  retrospect  should  at  first  be  deemed 
too  wide  a  departure  from  his  immediate  history,  after 
events  will  show  that  it  is  indispensably  necessary  to  a  full 
comprehension  of  his  public  services,  and  that  justice  to  his 
character  demands  it. 

It  is  a  painful  fact  in  the  history  of  almost  every  strug- 
gle for  freedom,  that  the  oppressed  party  has  been  com- 
pelled, as  an  equivalent  for  the  assistance  it  has  received, 
to  sacrifice  a  part  of  the  independence  for  which  it  was 
contending,  either  by  direct  stipulations  of  advantage  to 
its  ally,  or  by  the  more  injurious  consequences  of  popular 
feeling,  in  which  hatred  of  an  enemy  produces  too  strong 
a  bias  to  a  friend. 

That  which  is  not  wrested  from  dependence,  is  claimed 
as  the  due  concession  of  gratitude  ;  a  claim  which  those 
who  aspire  to  lead  the  public  sentiment,  are  too  ready  to 
encourage,  and  which  the  friends  of  national  character 
find  it  difficult  to  resist.  This  evil  would  be  greater  and 
more  apparent  in  the  history  of  the  United  States,  as  theirs 
was  an  alliance  with  an  absolute  government,  which  could 
feel  no  sympathies  with  the  principles  of  the  American 

11 


82  THELIFEOP 

controversy  against  a  nation  in  whose  constitution  and 
morals  those  principles  had  their  source. 

As  early  as  September,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy- 
five,  measures  were  under  consideration  for  obtaining 
foreign  succour ;  and  for  that  purpose,  a  committee  of  se- 
cret correspondence  was  appointed,  of  which  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  chairman. 

This  committee  selected  Arthur  Lee,  of  Virginia,  the 
agent  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  then  residing  in 
London,  as  the  medium  of  communication.  He  disclosed 
his  commission  to  the  envoy  of  France,  who  immediately 
apprised  his  government.  The  dissensions  in  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  had  early  presented  themselves  to  the  court 
of  Versailles,  as  an  opportunity  to  weaken  her  powerful 
neighbour  ;  and  scruples  as  to  the  violation  of  a  subsisting 
treaty  were  overcome  by  the  strong  motive  of  a  supposed 
national  interest.  Uncertain  as  to  the  issue  of  the  contro- 
versy, France,  it  has  been  observed,  adopted  the  policy  of 
granting  secret  aids — aids  so  limited,  as  to  indicate  a  dispo- 
sition rather  to  foster  an  embarrassing  quarrel,  than  to 
assist  in  founding  an  empire.  But  the  same  foresight 
which  prompted  congress  in  July,  seventeen  hundred  and 
seventy-six,  to  declare  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  anticipated  its  recognition  by  France  as  one  of  the 
certain  consequences  of  that  measure ;  and  in  the  same 
month  a  plan  of  treaty  with  that  power  was  framed.  It 
was  acted  upon  in  the  ensuing  September,  and  Franklin, 
Deane,  and  Lee,  were  elected  commissioners  to  represent 
their  country  at  Versailles. 

This  plan  provided,  that  each  nation  should  commerce 
with  the  other  on  the  footing  of  "  natives  ;"  forv  the  mutual 
protection  of  this  commerce,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
articles  enumerated  as  contraband  ;  for  the  retention  by 
France  of  her  existing  fisheries,  with  a  stipulation  that 
neither  party  should  interfere  with  the  fishing-grounds  of 


HAMILTON.  83 

the  other,  on  pain  of  confiscation.  It  further  provided, 
that  France  should  not  under  any  pretence  possess  her- 
self of  any  of  the  territories  then  or  lately  under  the  do- 
minion of  Great  Britain,  on  or  near  the  North  American 
continent,  it  being  the  declared  intention  of  the  United 
States  to  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  possession  of  them. 
It  secured  access,  on  the  same  terms  with  France,  to  such 
of  the  British  West  Indies  as  she  might  capture  ;  gave 
permission  of  free  access,  by  the  men-of-war  and  priva- 
teers of  either  party,  to  the  ports  of  the  other,  excluding 
from  them  any  captures  from  either  nation  by  an  enemy ; 
with  the  right  also  of  unmolested  trade  by  either  party 
from  its  own  to  the  ports  of  an  enemy  of  the  other,  or 
from  one  of  that  enemy's  ports  to  another.  It  also  pro- 
vided for  an  exemption  from  duty,  in  the  French  islands, 
on  molasses  shipped  to  the  United  States,  and  that  the 
duties  on  articles  in  those  islands,  when  sent  there,  should 
not  exceed  the  lowest  duties  upon  the  same  articles  when 
shipped  to  France. 

The  instructions  which  accompanied  this  plan,  authorized 
the  substitution  of  a  commerce  on  the  footing  "  of  the  most 
favoured  nation"  if  France  objected  to  that  of  " natives ;" 
a  waiver  of  other  of  the  proposed  articles  upon  certain  con- 
tingencies ;  and  urged  a  public  acknowledgment  by  France 
of  the  independence  of  the  United  States,  with  assurances 
to  Spain  not  to  interfere  with  her  colonial  dependencies. 

Additional  instructions  were  subsequently  given,  to  take 
measures  to  prevent  the  employment  by  England  of  fo- 
reign mercenaries,  offering  an  entire  exclusion  of  her  from 
the  American  fisheries,  with  a  participation  in  them  to 
France,  and  an  assurance  of  aid  in  the  reduction  of  the 
British  West  Indies,  then  to  belong  to  France,  as  induce- 
ments to  obtain  a  declaration  of  war.  The  same  commis- 
sioners were  instructed  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  commerce 
and  alliance  with  Spain ;  for  which  purpose  they  were  di- 


84  THE    LIFE    OF 

reeled  to  promise  aid  in  the  reduction  of  Pensacola,  with 
an  express  reservation  to  the  United  States  of  the  use  of 
its  harbour,  and  of  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 
Measures  were  also  taken  to  form  treaties  with  Prussia, 
Austria,  and  Tuscany. 

These  propositions  were  coldly  received  by  France. 
The  issue  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  while  it 
stimulated  to  revenge,  inspired  caution.  But  the  difficulty 
of  concealing  her  co-operation  increased ;  and  when  the 
surrender  of  Burgoyne  and  the  onset  at  Germantown 
gave  evidence  of  the  vigour  and  resources  of  America, 
she  resolved  to  throw  off  the  mask.  An  interview  was 
held  with  the  American  commissioners :  the  terms  of  the 
proposed  treaty  were  considered ;  and  after  an  interval, 
during  which  an  answer  was  received  from  Spain  refusing 
to  unite  in  the  measure,  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
was  concluded  with  the  United  States,  on  the  sixth  of  Feb- 
ruary, seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-eight. 

By  this  treaty,  each  party  was  placed  on  the  footing  of 
" the  most  favoured  nation"  Similar  stipulations  for  mu- 
tual protection  and.  facility  of  intercourse,  were  made  with 
those  in  the  original  plan ;  an  article  was  added,  granting 
to  each  nation  the  liberty  of  maintaining  in  the  ports  of 
the  other  a  consular  establishment,  to  be  regulated  in  its 
functions  by  a  convention ;  and  another,  by  which  France 
promised  to  grant  one  or  more  free  ports  in  Europe,  and 
to  continue  the  free  ports  which  had  been,  or  were  then, 
open  in  the  West  Indies.  The  article  as  to  molasses  was 
objected  to,  but  ultimately  permitted  to  remain  on  the  grant 
as  an  equivalent,  that  all  merchandise  shipped  directly  from 
the  United  States  to  the  sugar-producing  islands,  should  be 
free  of  duty  ;*  that  excluding  France  from  possessing 

*  The  American  commissioners  were  Franklin,  Deane,  and  Lee.  Lee  at 
first  declined  to  sign,  from  an  objection  to  that  article  of  the  commercial 


HAMILTON.  85 

herself  of  any  of  the  territories  or  islands  then  or  lately 
under  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain  on  or  near  the  North 
American  continent,  was  dissented  from  and  abandoned. 

A  treaty  of  alliance,  eventual  and  defensive,  was  also 
formed.  It  provided,  that  common  cause  should  be  made 
if  war  should  break  out  between  France  and  Great  Britain 
during  the  continuance  of  the  war  between  her  and  North 
America.  It  declared  that  the  essential  and  direct  end 
of  this  alliance  was  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the 
United  States,  both  in  government  and  commerce ;  that 
acquisitions  by  the  United  States  in  the  northern  parts  of 
America,  or  of  the  Bermudas,  should  belong  to  them,  and 
renounced,  on  the  part  of  France,  the  possession  of  those 
islands  and  of  all  the  North  American  territory  previously 
or  then  belonging  to  Great  Britain  or  to  the  United  States. 
All  British  islands  situated  in  or  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
if  captured  by  France,  were  to  appertain  to  her. 

An  article  was  inserted,  at  the  instance  of  the  American 
commissioners,  that  no  peace  or  truce  was  to  be  concluded 
with  Great  Britain  by  either  party  without  the  formal 
consent  of  the  other ;  and  a  mutual  engagement  was  made, 

treaty  which  had  been  inserted  as  an  equivalent  for  the  exemption  of  molas- 
ses, an  objection  which  had  been  approved  by  Ralph  Izard,  the  commissioner 
to  Tuscany.  Franklin  did  not  attach  much  importance  to  this  exception, 
but  with  a  view  to  unanimity,  asked  of  the  French  court  an  omission  of 
these  articles.  France,  although  she  had  expressed  an  indifference  as  to 
their  introduction,  insisted  on  retaining  them,  and  they  were  inserted. 

The  views  of  Lee  were  approved  by  congress,  and  on  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  these  articles  were  rejected  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  and  subse- 
quently expunged. 

The  objections  were,  that  by  this  article,  "  the  French  might  lay  what 
duty  they  pleased  on  their  European  exports,  and  upon  sugar,  coffee,  and 
other  productions  of  their  islands,  without  any  check.  For  if,  in  consequence 
of  any  such  duty  imposed  by  them,  a  duty  were  to  be  laid  by  America  on 
any  of  her  exports  to  France,  the  French  vessels  would  have  nothing  to  do 
but  to  clear  out  for  the  West  Indies,  and  sail  directly  for  Europe,  or  touch 
first  at  one  of  their  islands." 


86  THELIFEOF 

"  not  to  lay  down  their  arms  until  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  shall  have  been  formally  or  tacitly  assured 
by  treaty."  It  excluded  all  claim  of  compensation  on 
either  side,  and  contained  a  mutual  guarantee  against  all 
other  powers  from  its  date  forevei — on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  to  France,  of  her  present  possessions  in 
America,  or  those  she  might  acquire  by  a  future  treaty  of 
peace ;  and  on  the  part  of  France  to  the  United  States, 
of  their  liberty,  and  independence  of  government  and 
commerce,  and  all  their  possessions,  and  the  conquests 
they  should  have  made  from  Great  Britain  during  the  ex- 
isting war,  as  the  same  "  shall  be  affixed  at  the  moment  of 
its  cessation." 

To  define  more  explicitly  the  sense  of  this  guarantee,  it 
was  declared,  that  in  case  of  a  rupture  between  France 
and  England,  it  was  to  take  effect  from  the  moment  of 
that  occurrence.  If  such  rupture  did  not  occur,  then  it 
was  not  to  take  effect  "  until  the  cessation  of  the  war  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  England  shall  have  ascer- 
tained their  possessions." 

A  separate  and  secret  article  was  added,  by  which  Spain 
was  entitled  to  accede  to  these  treaties  and  participate  in 
these  stipulations  at  such  time  as  she  should  judge  proper, 
with  an  engagement  to  admit  such  alterations,  analogous  to 
the  aim  of  the  alliance,  as  Spain  or  the  United  States  may 
propose,  and  shall  be  deemed  conformable  with  recipro- 
city. This  treaty,  containing  such  important  provisions, 
was  framed  by  France  without  having  been  anticipated  by 
the  United  States,  was  presented  to  the  American  com- 
missioners the  first  time  on  the  eighteenth,  was  assented 
to  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  January,  and  signed  on  the 
sixth  of  February,  simultaneously  with  the  treaty  of  com- 
merce. 

These  compacts  have  been  eulogized  as  evidences  of  the 
magnanimity  of  France,  and  have  been  pronounced  more 


HAMILTON.  87 

beneficial  to  the  United  States  than  to  their  ally.  The 
only  adequate  motives  that  can  be  ascribed  to  France  for 
making  them  were,  to  abridge  the  power  of  a  rival,  to  en- 
large her  commercial  relations  with  a  new  and  growing 
country,  and  to  secure  permanently  her  American  posses- 
sions. The  first  result  she  anticipated  from  a  contest  in 
which  she  knew  the  United  States  must  prevail ;  as  to  the 
second,  although  she  was  too  wise  to  excite  jealousy  by 
very  unequal  terms,  she  secured  to  herself  forever  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  trade,  on  the  privileges  of  "  the  most  favored 
nation"  with  a  young, growing, and  extensive  empire,  with- 
out giving  any  essential  commercial  equivalents.  But  the 
third,  although  it  appeared  to  be  a  measure  of  reciprocity, 
was  largely  in  her  favour.  She  guarantied  to  the  United 
States  their  sovereignty  and  independence  ;  as  an  equiva- 
lent for  which,  they  guarantied  her  West  India  possessions. 
Whenever  the  independence  of  the  United  States  should  be 
obtained,  as  it  was  not  within  the  calculation  of  probabili- 
ties that  it  would  ever  again  be  at  hazard,  the  guarantee 
of  France  would  be  nominal,  while  that  of  the  French 
islands  would  be  operative  in  every  maritime  war  in 
which  France  might  be  engaged,  would  be  an  effectual 
protection  of  them  by  means  of  the  future  power  of  this 
republic,  and  might  involve  it  in  controversies  in  which  it 
had  not  only  no  mutual,  but,  perhaps,  an  opposite  interest. 
Upon  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty,  Gerard  was  ap- 
pointed minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States, 
where  he  arrived  in  the  month  of  July.  Silas  Deane  was 
recalled,  John  Adams  substituted  for  him,  and  Franklin 
commissioned  to  the  French  court,  but  with  instructions  not 
to  enter  into  any  stipulation  without  the  previous  consent  of 
America.*  The  mission  of  Gerard  was  not  disclosed  by 


*  It  is  stated  that  in  a  conference  between  Gouverneur  Morris  and  Gerard, 
in  relation  to  the  instructions  to  be  given  to  Franklin,  "  one  important  fea- 


88  THELIFEOF 

his  joint  commissioners  to  Lee,  who  addressed  a  letter  to 
Franklin  expressing  in  strong  terms  his  indignation  at  this 
concealment,  and  charging  upon  him  circumstances  to  show 
a  studied  design  to  mislead  him.  To  this  letter  no  reply 
has  been  found ;  the  concealment  has  been  excused  on  the 
ground  of  an  injunction  of  secrecy  by  the  minister  of 
France.  These  dissensions  were  censured  by  congress, 
and  a  motion  to  recall  Franklin  was  rejected  by  the  votes 
of  ten  states.*  Within  a  few  days  after,  Lee  communi- 
cated to  Vergennes  that  Hartley,  an  English  member  of 
parliament,  was  endeavouring  to  insinuate  distrusts  of  the 
conduct  of  France  ;  and  that  agents  for  a  similar  purpose 
had  been  despatched  to  the  United  States.  Lee's  hesita- 
tion as  to  the  treaty  had  given  displeasure,  and  this  letter 
was  answered  by  a  sharp  and  insulting  reply. f 

The  agents  mentioned  by  Lee  arrived  in  the  United 
States  and  attempted  to  open  a  negotiation,  but  congress 
refused  all  correspondence  with  them,  unless  preceded  by 
an  acknowledgment  of  their  independence,  or  the  with- 
drawal of  their  fleets  and  armies.  A  fruitless  attempt 
was  also  made  to  treat  separately  with  Franklin.  Appre- 
hensive that  these  experiments  on  the  good  faith  of  Ame- 
rica might  succeed,  the  French  ambassador  declared  that 
it  had  been  pretended  that  the  United  States  had  reserved 


tore  was  struck  out  at  the  suggestion  of  Gerard."  It  was  a  direction  to 
Franklin  to  urge  France  to  send  an  increased  naval  force  to  aid  in  driving 
the  British  from  the  seaports.  This  was  objected  to  by  Gerard,  on  the 
grounds  that  it  was  not  feasible,  nor  would  be  advantageous.  The  project 
for  attacking  Canada  was  wisely  discountenanced.  What  the  motives  of 
France  were,  is  not  known  ;  perhaps  not  too  much  to  aggrandize  the  United 
States ;  as,  if  conquered,  it  was  guarantied  to  them,  and  probably  with  the 
ulterior  view  of  obtaining  it  herself,  at  the  termination  of  the  war,  as  the  re- 
storation of  an  ancient  possession.  Other  motives  have  been  assigned. — 
Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  vol.  1,  189. 

*  McKean's  letter  as  to  this,  p.  177,  vol.  2,  R.  H.  Lee's  Life. 

t  1778.— 2  D.  C.  145,  157. 


HAMILTON.  89 

the  liberty  of  treating  with  Great  Britain  separately  from 
their  ally,  as  long  as  Great  Britain  shall  not  have  declared 
war  against  his  master  ;  which  was  met  by  an  explicit  as- 
surance, that  the  United  States  would  not  conclude  a 
peace  or  truce  with  the  common  enemy,  without  the  for- 
mal consent  of  their  ally ;  and  that  any  insinuations  or 
assertions  to  the  contrary,  tended  to  their  injury  and  dis- 
honour. 

Several  months  having  elapsed  since  the  signature  of 
the  treaty  which  gave  to  Spain  the  right  of  acceding  to  the 
alliance,  Lee,  who  had  been  at  an  early  period  commis- 
sioned to  open  a  negotiation  with  that  court,  proposed  it 
to  Vergennes.  His  reply  stated,  that  he  would  "  act  pru- 
dently in  suspending  the  measures,  with  a  view  of  ascer- 
taining its  principles  and  resolutions  with  regard  to  Ame- 
rica." This  answer  was  transmitted  to  the  United  States, 
and  about  the  time  it  was  received,  Gerard  announced  to 
congress  that  Spain  had  resolved  to  make  a  final  offer  of 
mediation,  and  urged  the  immediate  appointment  of  a 
minister  to  Madrid  to  assist  in  the  deliberations,  and  to 
conclude  a  treaty.  The  important  question  as  to  the  ulti- 
mata to  govern  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  was  now  con- 
sidered by  congress.* 

It  was  proposed,  as  a  preliminary  to  all  negotiation,  that 
the  independence  of  the  United  States  should  be  acknow- 
ledged. The  boundaries  were  defined  nearly  as  they  were 
subsequently  established  by  the  definitive  treaty.  The 
country  was  to  be  evacuated  by  the  British  forces,  and  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  as  low  as  the  southern 
limits  of  the  United  States,  and  a  free  commerce  (except- 
ing enumerated  articles)  to  some  port  or  ports  near  its 
mouth,  were  to  be  insisted  upon.  Conditional  articles  re- 
lating to  the  British  North  American  possessions — the 

*  February  23,  1779.— 2  S.  J.  228. 
12 


90  THE   LIFE    OF 

Bermudas  and  Floridas — with  a  stipulation  that  the  United 
States  should  not  trade  to  the  East  Indies,  or  engage  in 
the  slave  trade,  were  also  proposed,  but  were  set  aside. 

The  debate  upon  these  terms,  in  which  the  fisheries 
were  the  prominent  topic,  was  protracted  until  July ;  du- 
ring its  progress,  repeated  communications  were  made  by 
the  envoy  of  France.  On  the  twenty-second  of  May, 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  congress  were  re- 
minded of  the  determination  of  France  to  continue  the 
war  until  independence  shall  have  been  formally  or  tacitly 
acknowledged — that  she  was  only  bound  by  her  treaty, 
and  that  as  to  the  possessions  to  be  insisted  upon — that 
her  engagements  were  conditional,  and  that  the  obliga- 
tions did  not  commence  until  they  were  fixed  by  the  ces- 
sation of  the  war  ;  and  a  caution  was  given  against  "  far- 
fetched inductions,  subject  to  discussion  and  contradiction, 
tending  to  alter  the  fundamental  system  of  the  alliance." 
This  was  followed  by  a  second  urgent  memorial  on  the 
importance  of  the  mediation  of  Spain,  and  of  a  decision 
upon  the  terms.  On  the  twelfth  of  July  a  conference 
was  had,  in  which  Gerard  stated  "  that  the  court  of  Lon- 
don, showing  on  one  side  dispositions  to  a  reconciliation 
with  France,  rejected,  on  the  other,  a  formal  explicit  ac- 
knowledgment of  independence,  which  France  persevered 
to  hold  up  as  a  preliminary  and  essential  condition."  He 
reminded  congress,  that  Holland  had  only  obtained  a  tacit 
acknowledgment  of  independence  after  a  war  of  thirty, 
and  an  explicit  one  after  a  resistance  of  seventy  years ;  and 
that  to  that  day,  Genoa  and  the  Swiss  cantons  had  obtain- 
ed no  renunciation  or  acknowledgment,  either  tacit  or 
formal,  from  their  former  sovereigns  ;  but  that  they  enjoy 
their  sovereignty  and  independence  only  under  the  gua- 
rantee of  France. 

This  was  pronounced  a  difficulty  "merely  in  words" 
and  it  was  suggested  "  that  instructions  upon  particular 


HAMILTON.  91 

conditions19  might  frustrate  the  purpose  of  the  treaty,  (of 
a  tacit  acknowledgment ;)  and  the  necessity,  by  the  adop- 
tion of  "just  and  moderate  terms"  towards  England,  of 
enabling  Spain  to  bring  her  mediation  to  an  issue,  was  en- 
forced. Congress  were  also  reminded,  that  "proper  terms" 
should  be  offered  to  his  catholic  majesty,  in  order  to  re- 
concile him  perfectly  to  the  American  interest,  and  lest  he 
should  "  drop  the  mediation." 

To  obviate  these  difficulties,  a  commission  with  full 
powers  based  on  the  treaty  with  France  was  proposed. 
Congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  their  ultimata: 
after  much  debate,  a  division  was  taken  on  an  amendment 
admitting  that  independence  might  be  "tacitly  assured" 
and  it  was  negatived.  As  to  the  fisheries,  it  was  decided 
that  the  guarantee  of  them  should  not  be  an  ultimatum, 
but  that  in  any  treaty  of  commerce  with  Great  Britain, 
that  right  "  should  in  no  case  be  given  up."  The  instruc-' 
tions  were,  that  "  in  all  other  matters  you  are  to  govern 
yourselves  by  your  own  discretion,  as  shall  be  most  for  the 
interest  of  these  states,  taking  care  that  the  treaty  be 
founded  on  principles  of  equality  and  reciprocity,  so  as  to 
conduce  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  both  nations,  but  not 
to  the  exclusion  of  others."* 

As  this  negotiation  was  to  be  conducted  under  the  me- 
diation of  Spain,  the  terms  of  a  treaty  with  that  power 
were  also  discussed.  Congress,  anxious  to  obtain  a  subsidy, 
aware  of  her  desire  to  repossess  the  Floridas,  and  doubtful 
of  the  extent  of  the  treaty  of  alliance  with  France  on  this 
point,  agreed  to  guaranty  them  to  Spain  if  conquered  from 
Great  Britain,  but  insisted  upon  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  into  and  from  the  ocean.  A  motion  to  authorize 
a  relinquishment  of  this  essential  right,  on  condition  of  the 
grant  of  a  free  port  or  ports  below  the  boundary  of  the 

*  2  S.  J.  231.— July  31,  1779. 


92  THELIFEOF 

United  States,  if  that  right  should  be  found  an  insuperable 
obstacle  to  a  treaty,  was  rejected. 

These  instructions  being  adopted,  they  proceeded  to  the 
choice  of  a  minister  to  Spain.  Jay  was  elected. 

In  the  prospect  of  a  successful  issue  to  this  mediation, 
John  Adams,  who  had  returned  to  the  United  States,  was 
at  the  same  time  appointed  envoy  to  Great  Britain,  and 
Henry  Laurens  to  the  United  Provinces.  Jay  proceeded 
to  Spain,  Adams  to  Paris. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  sojourn  of  Adams  at  Paris, 
during  his  first  mission,  nothing  of  a  very  marked  charac- 
ter occurred.  He  went  there  with  impressions  not  unfa- 
vourable to  France,*  though  it  seems  he  indulged  suspicions 
that  she  had  obtained  unfair  advantages  in  the  treaty  ;f 
and  awake  to  the  dangers  of  foreign  interference,  he  early 
expressed  his  apprehension,  "  lest J  Americans  should  avail 
themselves  of  the  aid  of  the  French  influence,  to  raise 
their  reputation,  extend  their  influence  to  strengthen  their 
parties,  and  to  promote  the  purposes  of  private  interest 
and  ambition."§  Confidence  in  his  independence  by  one 


*  "  It  is  a  rock"  (the  alliance)  "  upon  which  we  may  safely  build.  Narrow 
and  illiberal  prejudices,  peculiar  to  John  Bull,  with  which  I  might  perhaps 
have  been  in  some  degree  infected  when  I  was  John  Bull,  have  now  no  in- 
fluence over  me.  I  never  was,  however,  much  of  a  John  Bull ;  I  was  John 
Yankee ;  and  such  I  shall  live  and  die." — 4  D.  C.  261. 

t  4  D.  C.  275.  t  Ibid.  282. 

§  In  a  despatch  to  congress,  Adams,  in  speaking  of  Markow,  the  minister 
of  Russia  at  the  Hague,  mentions — "  His  behaviour  to  me  is  a  distant  bow,  an 
affected  smile  sometimes,  and  now  and  then  a  '  comment  vous  portez  vous  T 
One  evening  at  court,  when  the  northern  epidemy  was  here,  he  put  me  this 
question  after  supper,  in  great  apparent  good-humour.  Terriblement  afflige 
de  Vinfluen$a,  said  I.  "  C'est  en  Angleterre,"  says  he,  laughing,  "  qu'on  a 
donne  ce  nom,  et  il  ne  feroit  point  du  trial,  si  vous  voudriez  nous  laisser  gag- 
ner  un  pen  par  f  influence  de  V Angleterre."  I  had  at  my  tongue's  end  to 
answer — "  CTest  assez  d'etre  tourmente  de  t  influence  qui  vient  de  Russie  .' .'" 
but  I  reflected  very  suddenly,  if  he  is  indiscreet,  I  will  not  be  ;  so  I  contented 
myself  to  answer,  "Jamais,  monsieur,  jamais." — 6  D.  C.  391. 


HAMILTON.  93 

party,  and  fear  of  his  local  influence  by  the  other,  proba- 
bly induced  his  last  appointment. 

On  his  second  arrival  at  Paris*  he  announced  his  mission 
to  Vergennes,  assuring  him  of  his  intention  to  take  no 
steps  without  consulting  him,  and  asked  his  advice  as  to 
the  policy  of  communicating  his  powers  to  England.  The 
answer  expressed  an  opinion,  "  that  it  would  be  prudent  to 
conceal  his  eventual  character ;  and  above  all,  to  take  the 
necessary  precautions  that  the  object  of  his  commission 
may  remain  unknown  to  the  court  of  London."f 

This  opinion  Adams  disapproved.  He  wrote  to  con- 
gress, J  "  that  it  was  a  delicacy  not  perfectly  consonant  to 
his  manner  of  thinking  ;  and  that  if  he  had  followed  his 
own  judgment  he  would  have  pursued  a  bolder  plan,  by 
immediately  communicating  his  full  powers."  A  decent 
intercourse  with  the  French  ministry  was,  nevertheless, 
preserved ;  and  in  his  letters  to  them  he  still  expressed  his 
sense  of  the  importance  of  the  alliance,  avowing  his  opin- 
ion, "  that  the  commercial  interests  of  England  and  Ame- 
rica will  forever  hereafter  be  incompatible."§ 

After  a  long  interval,  Adams  again  apprised  Vergennes 
at  large  of  the  reasons  which  prompted  him  to  open  his 
commission  to  England.  The  French  minister  transmitted 
an  elaborate  reply,  stating  his  intention  that  it  should  be 
communicated  by  the  French  envoy  to  the  members  of 
congress,  under  the  persuasion  "that  that  assembly  will 
think  the  opinion  of  the  minister  of  France  worthy  some 
attention,  and  that  they  will  not  be  afraid  of  neglecting  or 
betraying  the  interests  of  the  United  States  by  adopting 
it  as  a  rule  of  their  conduct"  In  this  reply  he  avowed  as 
an  objection  to  any  overture  by  Adams,  "  that  it  is  neces- 
sary, first  of  all,  to  obtain  from  England  an  acknowledg- 


*  February  12,  1780.  t  4  D.  C.  364.  t  4  D.  C.  445. 

§  5  D.  C.  p.  104. 


94  THE    LIFE    OF 

ment  of  the  independence  of  America,  and  that  such  ac- 
knowledgment must  serve  as  a  foundation  for  a  treaty  of 
peace  :"*  well  knowing  that  such  an  acknowledgment 
would  not  be  granted,  but  that  a  treaty  with  the  United 
States  as  an  independent  power  would  obviate  all  difficul- 
ty. The  answer  of  Adams  contained  the  important  sug- 
gestion, that  though  such  an  overture  should  not  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  treaty,  it  would  operate  beneficially  by  its 
effect  on  the  popularity  of  the  English  minister. 

Vergennes  had,  in  the  interval,  apprised  him  of  the  sail- 
ing of  the  armament  under  De  Ternay  and  Rochambeau. 
This  communication  was  acknowledged  with  thanks.  It 
was  again  adverted  to  by  Adams  in  a  subsequent  letter, 
and  a  reinforcement  from  the  West  Indies  was  suggested. 
The  tone  of  this  letter  gave  great  umbrage  to  Vergennes, 
whose  reply  announced,  "  that  Franklin  being  the  only 
person  accredited  to  France,  that  with  him  only  he  ought 
and  could  treat."f  This  state  of  things  rendering  a  longer 
residence  in  Paris  unpleasant,  Adams  passed  on  to  Amster- 
dam. 

Copies  of  this  correspondence  were  sent  by  Vergennes 
to  Franklin,  with  directions  to  transmit  them  to  congress. 
He  enclosed  them  in  a  letter  commenting  on  the  course 
of  Adams,  stating,  "  that J  he  thinks,  as  he  tells  me,  that 
America  has  been  too  free  in  expressions  of  gratitude  to 
France ;  for  that  she  is  more  obliged  to  us  than  we  are  to 
her,  and  that  we  should  show  spirit  in  our  applications." 

Despatches  from  Jay  were  received  late  in  the  year. 
They  represented  that  all  the  letters  which  were  addressed 
to  him  were  opened,  that  the  assurances  of  aid  were  not 
fulfilled,  and  expressed  a  strong  suspicion  that  it  was  the 
policy  of  France§  so  to  manage,  that  the  United  States 


*  5  D.  C.  287.          t  5  D.  C.  305.— July  27, 1780.          t  3  D.C.  164. 
§  November  5,  1780. — Jay  writes  to  Gouverneur  Morris:  "The  French 


HAMILTON.  95 

and  Spain  should  be  debtors  to  her  for  any  concession 
either  nation  should  make  to  the  other.* 

On  the  fourth  of  Octoberf  congress  acted  upon  this 
letter,  and  upon  certain  instructions  from  Virginia.  They 
resolved  unanimously  to  insist  upon  the  right  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  into  and 
from  the  sea ;  to  require  a  free  port  at  its  outlet,  if  the  un- 
limited freedom  of  its  navigation  could  not  be  had  below 
their  southern  limits ;  and  "  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  bounda- 
ries as  already  fixed  by  them." 

Instructions};  to  this  effect  were  sent  to  Jay,  with  a 
statement  drawn  up  by  Madison,  enforcing  at  length  the 
claims  of  the  United  States  to  all  the  territory  east  of  that 
river,  insisting  that,  as  it  was  embraced  within  the  charters 
of  particular  states,  it  could  not  be  relinquished  by  con- 
gress without  embarrassment,  and  vindicating  their  right 
to  the  navigation  of  that  river  to  the  ocean. 

No  progress  was  made  in  the  negotiations  at  Madrid ; 
every  effort  to  obtain  aid  was  unsuccessful ;  every  approach 
to  a  direct  engagement  was  met  with  a  frivolous  pretext. 
No  support  was  obtained  from  the  resident  minister  of 
France  at  that  court,  and  a  formal  annunciation  was  made 
to  Jay,  that  no  money  was  to  be  expected,  "  and  that  that 
which  would  have  facilitated  a  far-advanced  negotiation, 
was  likely  to  produce  no  effect,  in  a  great  measure  through 
the  undermining  of  some  persons  of  rank  in  France"^ 

Relying  on  the  assurances  of  Spain,  large  drafts  had 
been  accepted,  and  strong  representations  were  made  to 
induce  her  to  pay  them.  They  failed,  and  the  American 
envoy  was  at  the  same  time  told  that  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  would  never  be  relinquished. || 

ambassador  here  has  excellent  intelligence  from  your  city.  I  know  but  little 
of  what  passes  among  you." — Jay's  Life,  vol.  1,  p.  114. 

*7D.  C.  218,220.  t!780.  I  2  S.  J.  326.  §7D.  C.  363. 

||  7  D.  C.  369 


96  THE    LIFE    OF 

Thus  far,  the  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States  had 
been  directed  by  a  spirit  in  congress  worthy  their  cause 
and  their  prospective  greatness. 

Though  their  seaboard  was  harassed,  their  cities  cap- 
tured, their  interior  ravaged  by  a  double  foe,  the  same 
constancy  which  had  repelled  with  hasty  levies  of  militia 
the  advances  of  well-appointed  armies,  was  yet  manifested 
by  the  states  north  of  the  Potomac.  No  impression  had 
been  made  on  the  mind  of  their  people. 

Defeated  in  her  efforts  to  subdue  these  states,  England 
resolved  to  direct  her  arms  against  the  south.  Charles- 
ton fell ;  and  though  Marion  and  Clarke,  with  the  hardy 
inhabitants  of  the  upper  country,  were  yet  formidable, 
Camden  witnessed  the  incapacity  and  the  retreat  of  Gates. 
Georgia  is  seen  in  vain  imploring  succour,  and  Jefferson 
was  trembling  for  Virginia. 

This  was  the  moment  chosen  by  the  ministry  of  France 
to  press  interests  other  than  those  of  the  United  States. 
They  had  recently  concluded  a  treaty  with  Spain,  who 
had  refused  to  join  the  alliance  without  the  guarantee 
of  an  exclusive  right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
and  to  the  region  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Their  partisans 
in  congress  had  increased  in  number.  The  delegates  from 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina  were  yielding  to  the  appre- 
hensions they  had  excited,  and  it  only  required  the  con- 
currence of  Virginia  to  attain  their  object. 

Among  the  members  from  New-England  and  New- 
York,  there  was  not  one  at  this  time  of  eminent  ability. 
Gouverneur  Morris,  after  the  passage  of  the  instructions 
which  he  had  framed,  retired  from  congress,  and  early  in 
this  year  Madison  had  taken  his  seat  in  that  body.  Put 
forward  and  sustained  by  Jefferson  and  Edmund  Ran- 
dolph, with  whom  he  was  in  close  correspondence,  and 
representing  Virginia,  he  became  the  leader  of  the  southern 
vote,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  his  colleague,  Bland. 


HAMILTON. 

Strong  as  the  disposition  may  have  been  to  gratify  the 
wishes  of  France  in  other  respects,  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  was  too  important  to  Virginia  to  be  safely 
relinquished  by  any  of  her  public  men.  But  at  this  mo- 
ment an  event  happened,  which  enabled  France  to  accom- 
plish one  of  the  favourite  objects  of  her  European  ally. 

Early  in  October  intelligence  was  received  of  a  con- 
templated embarcation  from  New- York,  and  on  the  twen- 
ty-fifth of  that  month,  Portsmouth  was  in  possession  of 
the  British,*  who  left  the  Chesapeake  at  the  end  of  No- 
vember. 

On  the  ninth  of  December,  Washington  announced  to 
Jefferson,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  that  a  second  em- 
barcation "  of  a  body  of  refugees,"  was  about  taking  place 
at  New- York,  supposed  to  be  destined  for  the  south. 
A  part  of  their  force  was  dispersed  in  a  storm ;  the  residue, 
nine  hundred  strong,  arrived  in  the  Chesapeake  on  the 
thirtieth  of  that  month,  whence  they  proceeded  up  the 
James  river,  under  a  convoy. 

The  news  of  their  approach  reached  Richmond  the 
following  day ;  where,  notwithstanding  the  previous  no- 
tice, only  two  hundred  militia  had  been  embodied.  Even 
this  force,  posted  on  the  succession  of  strong  and  wooded 
hills  which,  separated  by  obstructing  creeks,  there  pierce 
the  river,  might  have  repulsed  the  enemy,  flanked  with 
only  thirty  cavalry,  and  without  a  single  piece  of  artillery. 
But  no  resistance  was  offered — not  a  gun  was  fired — not 
a  life  was  lost.  The  governor  and  legislature  fled  before 
the  traitor  Arnold.  On  the  fifth  of  January,  he  took  pos- 
session of  Richmond,  seized  a  part  of  the  archives,  burnt 
the  magazines,  and  retired  unmolested. 

Jefferson  then  returned  to  his  undefended  capital.  A 
motion  was  made  for  his  impeachment  at  the  next  session 

*  Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  1,  188. 
13 


98  THELIFEOF 

of  the  legislature.  He  declined  a  re-election  as  governor, 
while  the  motion  was  pending,  and  while  the  enemy  were 
yet  in  possession  of  a  part  of  the  state.  At  the  time  his 
conduct  was  a  subject  of  inquiry,  a  party  under  Tarleton 
approached.  The  governor,  and  the  legislature  then  sit- 
ting at  Charlottesville,  again  fled  far  into  the  interior ;  and 
in  the  succeeding  winter,  at  the  instance  of  a  mutual  friend, 
the  impeachment  was  withdrawn ;  and  the  house,  softened 
by  his  submission,  relieved  from  his  government  by  the 
election  of  General  Nelson,  a  man  of  courage,  and  from 
future  apprehension  by  the  capture  of  Yorktown,  passed 
a  healing  vote  of  approbation.*  f 

On  the  very  dayj  that  the  legislature  abandoned  Rich- 
mond, a  resolution  was  adopted  in  relation  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. It  was  enclosed  to  congress  by  Jefferson,  at  that 
time  in  correspondence  with  Marbois,  the  French  secre- 
tary of  legation,  at  whose  instance  he  was  embodying  his 
"  Notes  upon  Virginia."  By  this  resolution,  after  ceding 
"  her  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  to  be  formed  into  re- 
publican states  and  sold  as  a  common  fund  for  the  use  of 
the  union" — a  cession  which  she  had  refused,  and  which  it 
has  been  seen  by  her  subsequent  protest,  and  requiring  a 
guarantee,  she  for  a  long  time  rendered  of  no  effect — Vir- 
ginia resolved,  "that  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 

*  4  Marshall's  Washington,  387.— 1  Jefferson's  Works,  200  :  Lee's  obser- 
vations on  do.,  119,  140. 

t  In  a  defence  of  Jefferson,  published  in  Virginia,  September  19,  1800,  it 
is  stated,  that  a  committee  was  appointed  on  the  26th  November,  1781,  to 
state  any  charges  and  receive  such  information  as  may  be  offered  respecting 
the  administration  of  the  late  executive.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the  in- 
quiry, Jefferson  took  his  seat  as  one  of  the  delegates.  The  member  who 
moved  the  investigation  absented  himself,  and  the  committee  reported,  "  no 
information  being  offered  on  the  subject  matter  except  rumours,"  their  opin- 
ion that  those  rumours  were  groundless ;  and  passed  a  resolution  "  to  obviate 
all  future,  and  remove  all  former,  unmerited  censure." 

t  January  2d,  1781. 


HAMILTON.  99 

should  be  claimed  only  as  co-extensive  with  her  territory," 
and  instructed  her  delegates,  "  that  every  other  and  fur- 
ther demand  should  be  ceded,  if  insisting  on  the  same,  is 
deemed  an  impediment  to  a  treaty  with  Spain." 

A  few  days*  after  this  resolution  had  passed,  the  com- 
mittee to  which  the  complaints  of  Vergennes  against 
Adams  had  been  referred,  reported  a  letter  to  be  address- 
ed to  him  by  the  president  of  congress.  He  was  informed 
that  the  opinion  of  the  French  minister  relative  to  the  time 
and  circumstances  proper  for  communicating  his  powers 
and  entering  upon  the  execution  of  them,  was  well  founded, 
congress  having  no  expectations  "  from  the  influence  which 
the  people  may  have  on  the  British  councils  !"f 

De  La  Luzerne  had  succeeded  Gerard  as  envoy  to  the 
United  States.  On  his  arrival,  he  had  a  conference  with 
General  Washington,  and,  as  has  been  previously  stated, 
in  this  interview,  among  a  variety  of  topics,  he  proposed  a 
co-operation  in  a  contemplated  expedition  by  Spain  against 
the  Floridas — that  being  the  only  object  which  in  her  self- 
ish policy  she  cared  to  gain,  in  the  hope  of  annexing  them 
to  Louisiana.  Washington  prudently  declined  discussing 
the  policy  of  the  measure,  merely  stating,  that,  as  a  military 
question,  he  saw  no  objection  in  case  the  enemy's  force 
should  be  withdrawn  from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

This  idea  was  subsequently  submitted  to  congress  by  an 
agent  of  Spain  through  the  French  ambassador ;  and  with 
a  view  to  gratify  the  expectations  of  that  country,  a  de- 
tachment from  the  main  army  was  ordered,  though  at 
great  hazard,  to  Carolina  to  make  a  diversion.  Having 
attained  this  object,  encouraged  by  the  recent  letter  to 
Adams,  and  confirmed  in  his  hopes  by  the  late  vote  of  Vir- 
ginia, a  formal  communication;};  was  made  by  the  French 
ambassador  to  a  committee  of  congress  of  the  corre- 

*  January  10,  1781.  t  5  D.  C.  306.  t  Jan.  28,  1781. 


100  THE    LIFE    OP 

spondence  which  had  passed  between  Spain  and  Great 
Britain. 

This  was  followed  by  an  earnest  representation  of  the 
danger  that  Great  Britain,  having  an  insuperable  reluc- 
tance to  admit  the  idea  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  would  involve  France  in  her  relations  with  other 
European  powers  ;  that  thus  an  armed  mediation  was  to 
be  feared,  which,  unless  the  United  States  increased  their 
efforts  to  dispossess  the  British  of  their  territories,  might 
compel  the  allies  to  accept  of  terms  which  would  leave 
England  mistress  of  her  actual  possessions,  or  to  continue 
the  war  under  the  disadvantages  of  having  the  forces  of 
the  mediation  united  with  those  of  their  enemies. 

This  representation  was  well  adapted  to  produce  alarm. 
A  second  conference  was  had,  in  which  the  anxiety  of 
Spain  for  an  alliance  was  stated.  The  importance  of 
"moderation"  in  their  negotiation  with  her  was  suggested, 
and  her  views  specified.  These  were,  that  the  United 
States  should  confine  their  limits  to  settlements  permitted 
by  the  proclamation  of  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
and  that  a  precise  and  invariable  western  boundary  should 
be  fixed — the  exclusive  navigation  of  the  Mississippi — the 
possession  of  the  Floridas,  and  of  the  lands  between  that 
western  boundary  and  the  eastern  side  of  that  river.  The 
consequences  of  these  stipulations  were  avowed,  that  the 
United  States  should  be  excluded  from  the  navigation  of 
that  river,  because  by  such  limitations  no  territories  would 
belong  to  them  on  its  borders,  and  that  the  southern  states 
should  be  restricted  from  any  settlements  or  conquests  in 
those  territories,  they  being  the  possessions  of  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain,  which  Spain  proposed  to  occupy  and  retain 
"  as  a  permanent  conquest." 

More  than  a  month  had  elapsed  since  the  resolution  of 
Virginia  passed.  It  was  passed  under  circumstances 
which  would  have  justified  a  pause,  and  a  demand  of  new 


HAMILTON.  101 

instructions.  Yet  in  obedience  to  this  resolution,*  and  thus 
urged  by  the  French  minister,!  Madison  prepared  an  in- 
struction to  Jay,  not  to  insist  upon  the  free  navigation  of 
that  river  to  the  ocean,  "  provided  such  cession  shall  be  un- 
alterably insisted  upon  by  Spain  ;"  but  to  be  satisfied  with 
a  guarantee  by  her  of  its  use  to  their  own  citizens,  in 
common  with  her  subjects,  above  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  exert  every  effort  to  obtain  a 
free  port  or  ports  below  that  boundary.  J  This  instruc- 
tion passed.§ 

The  impolicy  of  this  act  was  manifested  by  the  conduct 
of  Spain.  Though  intended  to  be  secret,  it  was  made 

*  Col.  Grayson,  of  Virginia,  calls  it  "  a  disgraceful  proposition." — Debates 
in  Virginia  Convention. 

t  1  Mad.  66,  Madison  says — "  In  this  important  business,  which  so  deeply 
affects  the  claims  and  interests  of  Virginia,  and  which  I  know  she  has  so 
much  at  heart,  I  have  not  the  satisfaction  to  harmonize  in  sentiment  with 
my  colleague."  "  He,"  Colonel  Bland,  "  has  embraced  an  opinion  that  we 
have  no  just  claim  to  the  subject  in  controversy  between  us  and  Spain,  and 
that  it  is  the  interest  of  Virginia  not  to  adhere  to  it." 

In  the  Life  of  Arthur  Lee,  vol.  2,  384-5,  Nov.  20, 1786,  a  letter  from  Col. 
Bland  to  Lee  is  to  be  seen.  Bland  writes — "  I  cannot  agree  with  you  on  the 
policy  of  Spain  or  the  eastern  states  to  relinquish  to  Spain  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  even  for  a  moment.  It  is  a  right  which  we  have  confirmed 
to  us  by  treaty.  It  is  a  right  which  nature  has  given  us.  It  is  a  right 
which  nature  will  claim.  It  is  a  right  which  it  is  impossible  in  Spain  to  de- 
prive us  of;  and  in  the  attempt,  she  has  shown  that  she  considered  it  a  right. 
Why  else  should  she  endeavour  to  barter  another  privilege  for  it  ?  Have 
you  not  mistaken  the  effect  of  the  exclusion  ?  I  rather  think  that,  could  it 
be  carried  into  execution,  it  would  stifle  the  germ  of  agriculture  and  im- 
provement" 

As  such  were  the  sentiments  of  Bland,  the  statements  of  Madison  on  this 
subject  would  appear  to  require  elucidation. 

In  a  letter  of  Madison,  App.  to  vol.  1,  p.  21,  he  says — "  Congress  seized  the 
first  moment  also  for  revoking  their  instruction  to  Mr.  Jay."  This  is  a  slight 
inaccuracy ;  this  instruction  was  not  revoked  until  late  in  the  following  year. 

t  2  S.  J.  397.— Feb.  15,  1781. 

§  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  North  Carolina,  negative  ;  New- York,  di- 
vided. 


102  THE    LIFE    OF 

known  to  her  before  the  information  of  it  reached  the 
American  envoy  at  Madrid.  Convinced  that  this  great 
object  was  secured,  no  motive  existed  to  depart  from  the 
policy  she  had  adopted.  Nothing  was  promised  or  denied, 
but  a  clew  was  given  to  her  purposes  by  the  observation 
of  her  prime  minister  to  Jay,  "  that  all  these  affairs  could 
with  more  facility  be  adjusted  by  a  general  peace  than 
now;  for  that  such  a  particular  and  even  secret  treaty 
with  us  might  then  be  made,  as  would  be  very  convenient 
to  both."  Discouraging  as  every  appearance  was,  the 
mission  was  prosecuted  with  diligence,  patience,  firmness, 
and  discernment,  until  all  efforts  proved  fruitless.  Two 
hundred  years  had  not  effaced  from  her  iron  memory  how 
much  she  had  suffered  by  a  revolt.  She  now  saw  in 
every  throe  of  liberty  the  loss  of  her  western  empire ; 
nor,  could  she  have  forgotten  it  for  a  moment,  would 
bigotry  have  failed  to  remind  her  that  it  was  a  revolt  of 
heretics. 

A  few  days  after  congress  had  yielded  in  relation  to  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  the  French  ambassador 
transmitted  to  them  a  letter  from  his  king,  assuring  them 
of  his  determination  to  assist  them  as  far  as  his  own  wants 
and  the  extraordinary  and  enormous  expenses  of  the  war 
would  permit.  This  communication  was  followed  by  a 
memorial  showing  the  extent  of  the  proposed  aids,  but  an- 
nouncing that  the  second  division  of  the  French  army 
could  not  be  expected  that  campaign.  A  second  memo- 
rial was  presented,  in  which  the  acceptance  by  Great  Bri- 
tain of  the  mediation  of  Russia  was  announced ;  and  a 
request  was  made  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
discuss  with  him  the  manner  of  conducting  the  negotia- 
tion, the  extent  of  the  powers  of  the  commissioners,  the  ex- 
tent to  which  they  were  to  be  used,  and  the  confidence  to 
be  reposed  in  the  plenipotentiaries  and  cabinet  of  France. 
"  Moderation"  was  again  inculcated. 


HAMILTON.  103 

It  has  been  seen  that  Adams  had  been  driven  with  in- 
dignity from  Paris.  Apprehensive  of  his  resentment,  and 
of  the  influence  which  his  suspicions  and  those  of  Dana  as 
to  the  policy  of  France  might  have  upon  their  conduct  at 
a  moment  when  indications  were  given  of  a  desire  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain  to  terminate  the  contest,  it  became 
important  to  France  to  exercise  over  them  an  absolute 
control. 

The  instructions  to  Adams,  penned  by  Gouverneur  Mor- 
ris, had  directed  him  to  govern  himself  by  the  alliance  of  the 
United  States  with  France — "by  the  advice  of  our  allies,  by 
his  knowledge  of  our  interests,  and  by  his  own  discretion" 

To  correct  what  France  deemed  an  error  in  these  in- 
structions, the  French  minister  having  on  the  seventh  of 
May,  at  the  earnest  entreaties  of  Virginia,  despatched  a 
fleet  to  the  Chesapeake  under  Destouches,  sought  a  con- 
ference with  congress.  After  stating  that  the  appointment 
of  Dana  was  premature,  and  the  opinion  of  the  council 
.that  he  ought  not  to  make  any  use  of  his  powers  at  this 
moment,  "  lest  the  dignity  of  the  country  should  suffer  by 
his  being  refused,"  he  proceeded  to  comment  on  the 
conduct  of  Adams.  He  stated  "  circumstances  to  prove 
the  necessity"  of  a  line  "  being  drawn"  of  which  Adams 
might  not  be  allowed  to  lose  sight,  and  dwelt  especially 
on  the  use  which  he  thought  he  had  a  right  to  make  of  his 
powers  to  treat  with  Great  Britain.  He  then  added,  that 
"  if  congress  put  any  confidence  in  the  king's  friendship 
and  benevolence,  they  would  be  impressed  with  the  neces- 
sity of  prescribing  to  their  plenipotentiary  a  perfect  and 
open  confidence  in  the  French  minister,  and  a  thorough  re- 
liance on  the  king  ;  and  would  direct  him  to  take  no  step 
without  the  approbation  of  his  majesty"  and  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  executing  his  instructions,  "  to  receive  his  directions 
from  the  Count  de  Vergennes."  This  conference  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  annunciation,  while  the  instructions  were 


104  THE    LIFE    OF 

before  a  committee  of  congress,  that  the  king  of  France 
had  granted  "a  gratuitous  subsidy"  of  six  millions  of 
livres. 

After  much  discussion,*  instructions  were  given  to  the 
American  plenipotentiaries  to  accept  the  mediation  of 
the  emperors  of  Russia  and  Germany,  but  not  to  accede  to 
any  treaty  of  peace  "  which  shall  not  effectually  secure 
the  independence  and  sovereignty  of  the  thirteen  states, 
according  to  the  form  and  effect  of  the  treaties  with  his 
most  Christian  majesty,  and  in  which  those  treaties  shall 
not  be  left  in  their  full  force  and  validity."  Thus  the  ex- 
press preliminary  acknowledgment  of  independence  was 
abandoned. 

With  a  view  to  secure  to  France  the  control  of  the  ne- 
gotiation, the  American  minister  was  instructed  "  to  make 
the  most  confidential  communications  upon  all  subjects  to 
the  ministry  of  France,  and  to  undertake  nothing  without 
their  knowledge  and  concurrence  ;"  and  authority  was 
given  to  agree  to  a  truce.  These  instructions  were  direct- 
ed to  be  communicated  confidentially  to  the  French  am- 
bassador. He  objected  to  them.  They  were  ordered  to 
be  reconsidered.  The  clause,  "  you  will  use  your  own 
judgment  and  prudence,  in  securing  the  interest  of  the 
United  States,"  was  erased,  and  the  words,  "  you  are  at 
liberty  to  secure,"  were  substituted  ;  and  after  the  word 
"  concurrence,"  an  addition  was  made,  by  which  the  min- 
ister was  directed  "  ultimately  to  govern  himself  by  their 
advice  and  opinion." 

This  last  clause,  so  derogatory  from  the  dignity  of  the 
country,  it  was  moved  four  days  after  to  reconsider ;  but 
the  motion  was  rejected.  This  vote  was  followed  by  a 
conference,  in  which  the  magnitude  of  the  king's  bounty 
was  stated  at  large.  It  will  be  remarked  with  surprise, 

*  June  11,  1781.— 2  S.  J.  439. 


HAMILTON.  105 

that  on  the  first  of  the  preceding  amendments,  the  only 
negative  states  were  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island ; 
that  as  to  the  last,  the  only  dissentients  were  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut ;  and  that  on  the 
motion  to  reconsider,  the  only  affirmative  states  were 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  Delaware, 
New- York  not  being  represented.  It  is  due  to  the  memory 
of  a  gallant  soldier  of  Virginia  to  record,  that  while  the 
vote  of  that  state  was  given  by  Jones  and  Madison  in  fa- 
vour of  these  amendments,  Colonel  Bland  opposed  them 
in  every  stage.*  f 


*  The  negatives  were  :  Massachusetts — Lovell  and  Ward ;  Rhode  Island — 
Varnum ;  Connecticut— Huntington,  (Elsworth  and  Sherman,  who  took 
their  seats  on  the  4th  of  June  preceding  ;)  Pennsylvania — Montgomery  and 
T.  Smith  ;  Virginia — Bland. 

t  The  clause  as  ultimately  adopted  ran  thus — after  referring  to  former 
instructions  as  to  boundaries — "  fromt  which  you  will  perceive  the  desires 
and  expectations  of  congress,  but  we  think  it  unsafe,  at  this  distance,  to 
tie  you  up  by  absolute  and  peremptory  directions  upon  any  other  subject 
than  the  two  essential  articles  above  mentioned.  You  are,  therefore,  at 
liberty  to  secure  the  interest  of  the  United  States  in  such  manner  as  cir- 
cumstances may  direct,  and  as  the  state  of  the  belligerent  and  disposition 
of  the  mediating  powers  may  require.  For  this  purpose,  you  are  to  make 
the  most  candid  and  confidential  communications  upon  all  subjects  to  the 
ministers  of  our  generous  ally,  the  king  of  France ;  to  undertake  nothing 
in  the  negotiations  for  peace  or  truce  without  their  knowledge  and  concur, 
rence ;  and  ultimately  to  govern  yourselves  by  their  advice  and  opinion, 
endeavouring  in  your  whole  conduct  to  make  them  sensible  how  much  we 
rely  on  his  majesty's  influence  for  effectual  support  in  every  thing  that  may 
be  necessary  to  the  present  security  or  future  prosperity  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

"  If  a  difficulty  should  arise  in  the  course  of  the  negotiation  for  peace,  from 
the  backwardness  of  Britain  to  make  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  our 
independence,  you  are  at  liberty  to  agree  to  a  truce,  or  to  make  such  other 
concessions  as  may  not  affect  the  substance  of  what  we  contend  for ;  and 
provided  that  Great  Britain  be  not  left  in  possession  of  any  part  of  the 
thirteen  United  States." 

t  2  S.  J.  446. 

14 


106  THE    LIFE    OP 

I 

This  degrading  concession*  to  France  was  not  the  only 
consequence  of  the  recent  invasion  of  Virginia.  A  pro- 
posal was  soon  after  made  that  the  states  should  empower 
congress  to  compel,  by  an  armed,  land,  or  naval  force,  any 
delinquent  state  "  to  yield  prompt  obedience  to  all  just  re- 
quisitions on  them ;  and  as  to  those  that  had  little  or  no 
foreign  trade  of  their  own,  that  all  inland  trade  with  such 
states  as  supplied  them  with  foreign  merchandise  might  be 
interdicted,  and  the  concurrence  of  the  latter  enforced,  in 
case  of  refusal,  by  operations  on  their  foreign  trade." 
"  There  is  a  collateral  reason,"  Madison  observed,  "  which 
interests  the  states  who  are  feeble  in  maritime  resources 
in  such  a  plan.  A  navy  so  formed,  and  under  the  orders 
of  the  general  council  of  the  state,  would  not  only  be  a 
guard  against  aggressions  and  insults  from  abroad,  but, 
without  it,  what  is  to  protect  the  southern  states,  for  many 
years  to  come,  against  the  insults  and  aggressions  of  their 
northern  brethren."!  So  remote  were  his  ideas  at  that 
time  from  a  national  government.  While  Madison  was 
thus  proposing  to  provide  for  future  wars  between  the 
states,  Hamilton,  as  has  been  seen,  was  urging  measures  to 
strengthen  the  union.  "  Force  cannot  effect  it.  The  ap- 
plication of  it,"  he  said,  "  is  always  disagreeable,  the  issue 
uncertain.  It  will  be  wiser  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  it, 
by  interesting  such  a  number  of  individuals  in  each  state  in 

*  Two  days  after,  Gouverneur  Morris  wrote  to  Jay :  "  But  when  you  come 
to  find  by  your  instructions  that  ypu  must  ultimately  obey  the  dictates  of  the 
French  minister,  I  am  sure  there  is  something  in  your  bosom  which  will  re- 
volt  at  the  servility  of  your  situation.  Do  I  not  know  you  well  enough  to 
believe  that  you  will  not  act  in  this  new  capacity  ?  I  think  I  do  ;  and  there- 
fore I  will  express  my  concern  that  you  must  decline  the  honour,  if  that  name 
can  be  applied  to  such  offices.  Decline,  however,  with  decency,  though  with 
dignity.  I  mean  always  if  no  alteration  takes  place,  which  shall  be  done  if  I 
can  effectuate  it,  though  I  almost  despair.  No  other  congress  will  surrender 
all,  as  this  has,  to  an  ally." 

t  Madison  Papers,  v.  1,  p.  87 :  Madison  to  Jefferson,  who  approved  the  idea. 


HAMILTON.  107 

support  of  the  federal  government,  as  will  be  a  counter- 
poise to  the  ambition  of  others,  and  will  make  it  difficult  for 
them  to  unite  the  people  in  opposition  to  the  just  and  ne- 
cessary measures  of  the  union."* 

As  the  independence  of  Adams  had  been  complained  of 
by  the  French  minister,  it  was  proposed  that  other  per- 
sons should  be  united  with  him  in  the  mission.  This  was 
at  first  rejected,  but  four  other  commissioners,  Franklin, 
Jay,  Jefferson  and  Laurens,  were  subsequently  added. 
Thus  a  preponderance,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  secured  to 
the  party  attached  to  France. 

Adams  still  retained  powers  to  form  a  commercial  treaty 
with  Great  Britain,  the  terms  of  which,  it  has  been  seen, 
required  that  no  privileges  should  be  granted  to  England 
not  conferred  on  France,  excluded  any  peculiar  limitations 
in  her  favour,  and  stipulated  expressly  for  a  participation  in 
the  fisheries  ;  but  in  all  other  matters  gave  him  full  discre- 
tion to  treat  on  terms  of  equality  and  reciprocity.  It 
was  possible  that  Great  Britain  might  avail  herself  of 
these  powers,  as  by  a  commercial  treaty  she  would  avoid 
the  express  acknowledgment  of  independence ;  and  that 
thus  the  whole  object  of  the  recent  instructions,  to  submit 
to  the  control  of  France,  would  be  defeated. 

To  prevent  such  a  result,  a  great  stroke  of  policy  was 
resorted  to.  An  additional  instruction  was  moved  by  Madi- 
sonf — that  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain, 
Adams  should  enter  into  no  such  treaty  unless  in  addition 
to  the  stipulations  as  to  the  fisheries ;  all  the  objects  included 
in  their  original  ultimatum  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
seventy-nine,  as  to  a  treaty  of  peace,  as  the  same  stood 
prior  to  their  instructions  of  the  fifteenth  of  June,  should 
be  in  such  treaty  of  commerce  explicitly  acknowledged 
and  stipulated  to  the  United  States. 

*  Ante,  vol.  1,  p.  371.  t  June  29, 1781.— 2  S.  J.  458. 


108  THE    LIFE    OP 

The  insuperable  obstacle  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain, 
it  had  been  fully  ascertained,  was  a  preliminary  acknow- 
ledgment of  independence.  This  original  ultimatum  re- 
quired* it  as  a  preliminary  article  to  any  negotiation, 
that  Great  Britain  shall  agree  to  treat  with  the  United 
States  "as  sovereign,  free,  and  independent."  Thus  all 
possibility  of  exercising  his  powers  by  Adams  would  have 
been  prevented.  That  such  was  the  object  of  this  motion, 
and  not  the  securing  a  preliminary  acknowledgment,  must 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  mover  of  the  resolution 
voted  for  the  instructions  of  the  fifteenth  of  June,  by  which 
this  previous  acknowledgment  of  independence  was  waived, 
and  it  was  to  become  merely  an  article  of  treaty. 

This  last  motion  was  rejected,  three  states  voting  for  it.f 
Baffled  in  this  effort  to  interpose  an  impassable  barrier  to 
all  direct  negotiation  with  England,  the  only  alternative 
that  remained,  was  to  withdraw  his  powers  to  form  a 
treaty,  and  at  the  instance  of  Madison  the  commission  to 
Adams  was  revoked. J 

Having  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  entire  control  of  the 
negotiation  for  peace,  and,  by  the  revocation  of  the  powers 
granted  to  Adams,  having  closed  the  door  upon  Great 
Britain,  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  France  would 
have  felt  herself  secure ;  but  she  still  saw  cause  of  appre- 
hension. Adams  was  in  Holland,  England  was  represent- 
ed at  the  Hague,  and  it  was  impossible  to  foresee  the  con- 
sequences of  a  negotiation  being  opened  between  them. 
These  were  to  be  prevented. 

On  his  arrival  at  Amsterdam,  Adams  suggested  the  im- 
portance of  maintaining  an  official  agent  there,  and  he  was 

*  2  s.  J.  225. 

t  Connecticut,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina — (Elsworth,  Bland,  and 
Smith,  dissenting.) 

t  July  23,  1781 ;  vol.  4,  No.  36,  state  department ;  Madison  seconded  by 
Sharpe. 


HAMILTON.  109 

empowered  to  negotiate  a  loan ;  he  soon  after  intimated 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  resident  embassy  at 
the  Hague.  The  suggestion  was  approved,  and  he  was 
commissioned  as  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  United 
Provinces. 

As  early  as  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  the 
regency  of  Amsterdam  had  evinced  a  disposition  to  enter 
into  commercial  regulations  with  America.  They  applied 
to  the  states-general  for  a  convoy  to  vessels  carrying  naval 
stores  to  France,  and  protested  against  a  refusal  of  it 
This  gave  a  pretext  to  that  nation  to  announce  to  them 
"  the  necessity  of  protecting  their  commerce,  in  order  to 
enjoy  the  privileges  of  neutrality."  This  was  not  done, 
and  a  rescript  was  issued  by  France  excluding  Holland 
from  those  privileges,  and  interdicting  a  part  of  her  pro- 
ductions. These  decisive  measures  produced  the  intended 
effect,  and  a  naval  force  was  directed  by  the  states-general 
to  be  equipped  for  that  purpose. 

Soon  after,  an  American  squadron  under  the  command 
of  Paul  Jones  entered  the  Texel  with  several  prizes.  He 
was  ordered  to  leave  the  waters  of  Holland.  While  there, 
an  address  was  presented  by  the  British  minister,  demand- 
ing the  seizure  of  the  king's  vessels  in  the  hands  of  a 
"  pirate  and  an  outlaw."  This  demand  was  not  acceded 
to,  but  Jones  was  again  commanded  to  sail.  Having  re- 
fused with  great  indignation  the  offer  from  the  French 
ambassador  of  a  letter  of  marque,  he  departed. 

But  a  short  time  elapsed  when  a  plan  of  a  treaty  with 
the  United  States  was  framed  by  the  authorities  at  Am- 
sterdam. This  drew  an  angry  remonstrance  from  England. 
Measures  of  defence  were  taken  by  that  city ;  orders  in 
council  were  issued  by  Great  Britain  for  hostilities,  and  St. 
Eustatia  was  captured.  Adams  resolved  to  seize  upon  this 
moment  to  make  an  impression.  He  addressed  letters  to 
the  envoys  of  Russia,  Denmark,  and  Sweden,  announcing 


110  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  resolution  of  congress  concurring  with  the  regulations 
of  the  "  marine  treaty,"  and  at  the  same  moment  asked  of 
the  French  ambassador  the  Duke  de  la  Vauguyon  to  aid 
him.  The  former  did  not  answer  his  letters ;  the  latter  stated 
that  he  had  no  instructions  on  the  subject.  Relying  on  the 
support  of  several  of  the  provinces,  he  presented  a  memorial 
to  the  states-general,  and  urged  his  reception  at  the  Hague. 
He  was  discountenanced  by  Vauguyon,  and  was  refused. 
In  a  conference  between  La  Luzerne  and  congress,  they 
were  informed  that,*  "  on  being  apprised  of  the  intention 
of  Mr.  Adams  to  display  his  character  as  a  minister,  the 
duke  gave  him  no  assistance  on  that  occasion,  knowing  the 
application  would  have  no  favourable  issue." 

The  perseverance  of  Adams  alarmed  Vergennes,  and 
within  a  few  days  after  his  powers  to  form  a  commercial 
treaty  with  Great  Britain  had  been  revoked,  the  French 
ambassador  appeared  again  before  congress.  He  stated 
the  accession  of  Holland  to  the  armed  neutrality,  the  hos- 
tile acts  of  Great  Britain,  the  opinion  of  the  council  of 
his  king  that  a  "prudent  and  able  man"f  should  be  sent  to 
Holland  with  full  powers  ;  that  it  would  likewise  be  advan- 
tageous to  give  proper  instructions  to  that  minister,  and  as 
it  is  impossible  at  this  distance  to  have  quick  information, 
it  would  be  proper  to  have  further  instructions  given  by 
Dr.  Franklin,  in  order  to  avoid  all  inconsistency  or  contra- 
diction, and  that  the  political  operations  of  congress,  aim- 
ing towards  the  same  end,  may  of  course  be  more  success- 
ful. Had  Franklin,  as  Adams  alleged,  been  the  "index 
of  Vergennes,"  a  better  expedient  could  not  have  been 
devised  by  France  to  point  the  way  to  the  American  resi- 
dent at  the  Hague  ;  but  neither  this  nor  the  hint  as  to  the 
selection  of  "  a  prudent  and  able  man,"  could  be  acted 
upon  without  offending  New-England. 

*  3  S.  J.  35.  t  2  S.  J.  466.— July  23,  1781. 


HAMILTON.  Ill 

The  original  instructions  to  Adams  were,  "  to  adopt,  in 
whole  or  without  any  essential  alteration,"  a  plan  of  treaty 
which  was  transmitted  from  Philadelphia,  with  restrictions 
"  not  to  admit  any  thing  inconsistent  with  the  treaties  with 
France,  or  not  conforming  to  the  proposed  regulations  of 
the  congress  of  northern  powers." 

The  only  device  was,  to  limit  these  instructions ;  and 
with  that  view  a  report  was  adopted,  which,  after  acknow- 
ledging this  effort  by  the  king  of  France  to  make  a  coali- 
tion with  Holland,  as  a  fresh  proof  of  his  solicitude  for 
their  interests,  stated  to  the  French  minister  the  previous 
appointment  of  Adams  with  special  instructions  to  con- 
form to  the  treaty  with  France,  and  empowered  him  to  enter 
into  a  joint  alliance  with  France,  Holland,  and  Spain,  on 
condition  that  no  party  shall  conclude  either  truce  or  peace 
with  Great  Britain  without  the  formal  consent  of  the 
whole  first  obtained.  In  all  other  matters,  he  was  to  use 
his  best  discretion ;  and  he  was  directed  "  to  confer  upon 
all  occasions  in  the  most  confidential  manner  with  his  most 
Christian  majesty's  minister"  at  the  Hague.* 

While  these  measures  were  taken  in  America,  Adams 
was  invited  by  Vergennes  to  Paris,  to  consult  upon  the 
proposed  mediation  of  Austria  and  Russia. 

He  announced  his  arrival ;  an  audience  was  granted,  and 
the  subject  was  opened,-f 

The  propositions  of  the  mediators  were  upon  the  basis,J 

*  2  S.  J.  472.— August  16,  1781. 

t  In  his  letter  to  congress,  he  says — "  The  letter  announcing  my  ar- 
rival, I  sent  by  my  servant,  who  waited  until  the  count  descended  from  the 
council,  when  he  delivered  it  into  his  hand.  He  broke  the  seal,  read  the 
letter,  and  said  he  was  sorry  he  could  not  see  Mr.  Adams,  but  he  was  obliged 
to  go  into  the  country  immediately  after  dinner  ;  that  Mr.  Adams  '  seroit 
dans  le  cas  de  voir  M.  de  Rayneval,'  who  lived  at  such  a  sign,  in  such  a 
street.  After  dinner  I  called  on  M.  de  Rayneval,  who  stated  the  object,  and 
an  interview  was  appointed  with  the  minister." — 6  D.  C.  92. 

t  6  D.  C.  100.— July  11, 1781. 


112  THELIFEOF 

that  a  treaty  should  be  negotiated  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  American  colonies  without  the  intervention  of  any 
of  the  belligerent  powers,  but  to  be  signed  conjointly  with 
that  of  those  powers,  and  that  there  should  be  a  general 
armistice  for  one  year  from  a  period  to  be  defined.  The 
comments  of  the  American  minister  stated  that  there 
would  be  no  objection  to  such  a  separate  treaty,  consist- 
ent with  their  obligations  to  their  allies,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  any  of  the  belligerents,  or  (unless  demanded) 
of  the  mediators.  The  conjoint  signature  was  approved, 
but  the  proposed  armistice  or  a  truce,  as  suggested  by 
Vergennes,  was  objected  to  except  under  two  express  pre- 
liminary conditions : — the  continuance  of  the  subsisting 
treaties  until  the  acknowledgment  of  independence  by 
Great  Britain,  and  the  antecedent  removal  of  the  British 
forces ;  and  this  truce  was  to  be  of  sufficient  duration  to 
imply  a  virtual  relinquishment  of  the  objects  of  the  war, 
and  to  be  agreed  to  before  the  opening  of  another  cam- 
paign. 

But  the  great  question  was  stated  to  be,  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  independence ;  and  "  as  the  United  States  can 
never  consent  that  their  independence  shall  be  discussed 
before  any  sovereign,"  it  was  suggested  that  if  the  impe- 
rial courts  would  "  lay  down,  as  a  preliminary,  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  United  States,  and  admit  their  minister  to 
a  congress,"  a  treaty  might  be  commenced  with  Great 
Britain,  "without  any  express  acknowledgment  of  sove- 
reignty until  the  treaty  should  be  concluded."  The  reply 
of  Vergennes,  addressed  to  Adams  as  agent  of  the  United 
States,  represented  the  necessity  of  certain  preliminaries 
being  adjusted  before  the  American  minister  could  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  congress.  His  answer,  proceeding  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  intended  to  acknowledge  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  American  states,  proposed  "  that  the 
character  of  their  minister  should  be  ascertained  before 


HAMILTON.  113 

any  congress  met,  that  he  might  take  his  place  as  soon  as 
it  opened.  A  second  letter  adverted  to  a  most  extraordi- 
nary suggestion — that  the  separate  states  of  America  should 
choose  an  agent  for  each,  to  attend  the  congress.  Adams 
urged  Vergennes  not  to  countenance  this  idea,  "  apprising 
him,  that  though  it  had  been  mentioned  only  as  a  tran- 
sient speculation,  that  he  felt  it  to  be  a  duty  to  inform 
him  that  congress  would  remonstrate  against  it  in  the 
most  solemn  manner."  No  other  correspondence  passed 
upon  this  subject,  but  from  the  statement  of  La  Lu- 
zerne  to  congress,  it  appeared  that  England  insisted  upon 
the  dependence  of  America  being  pre-established,  and 
that  thus  there  would  be  no  possibility  of  a  mediation  for 
peace. 

Adams  returned  to  Amsterdam,  approved*  and  obeyed 
his  last  instructions.  In  order  to  learn  whether  he  should 
visit  the  president  of  the  states-general,  he  consulted 
Vauguyon,  observing  "  that  congress  had  wisely  enjoined 
it  upon  him  to  confer  in  the  most  confidential  manner 
with  his  excellency,  and  that  he  had  "  made  it  a  law  to 
take  no  important  step  without  his  approbation."  Vau- 
guyon waited  the  orders  of  his  principal,  and  informed 
Adams  that  the  minister  "  sees  no  objection  to  the  visit  on 
the  subject  of  his  memorial,  provided,  without  any  official 
writing,  he  limited  himself  to  the  inquiry,  whether  his 
memorial  had  been  the  subject  of  deliberation,  and  what 
answer  he  should  communicate  to  congress."  The  memo- 
rial was  referred  for  consideration ;  and  after  some  delay — 
after  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  and  the  victories  of  Greene 
had  changed  the  British  ministry,  and  peace  was  inevitable, 
— France  sanctioned  his  reception,  and  he  was  gratified  by 
a  public  acknowledgment.  During  these  interesting  mo- 
ments, he  received  a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  foreign 

*  6  D.  c.  198. 
15 


114  THE    LIFE    OF 

affairs  disapproving  his  having  printed  his  memorial,  and 
having  urged  his  admission  to  court.  His  reply  shows  his 
views  of  the  effects  of  this  measure,*  and  of  the  conse- 

*  John  Adams  to  congress. — 6  Dip.  Corres.  258. — "  The  proposition  to  the 
president  being  taken  ad  referendum,  it  became  a  subject  of  the  delibera- 
tion of  the  sovereignty.  The  prince,  therefore,  and  the  whole  court,  are 
legally  bound  to  treat  it  with  respect,  and  me  with  decency  ;  at  least,  it  would 
be  criminal  in  them  to  treat  me  or  the  subject  with  indecency.  If  it  had 
not  been  presented  and  printed,  I  am  very  sure  I  could  not  long  have  resided 
in  the  republic  ;  and  what  would  have  been  the  consequence  to  the  friends 
of  liberty,  I  know  not.  They  were  so  disheartened  and  intimidated,  and  the 
Anglomanes  were  so  insolent,  that  no  man  can  say  that  a  sudden  frenzy 
might  not  have  been  excited  among  the  soldiery  and  people,  to  demand  a 
junction  with  England,  as  there  was  in  the  year  1748.  Such  a  revolution 
would  have  injured  America  and  her  allies,  have  prolonged  the  war,  and 
have  been  the  total  loss  and  ruin  of  the  republic. 

"  Immediately  upon  the  presentation  of  my  memorial,  M.  Van  Berckel  ven- 
tured to  present  his  requete  and  demand  for  a  trial.  This  contributed  still 
further  to  raise  the  spirits  of  the  good  people,  and  soon  after  the  burgomasters 
of  Amsterdam  appeared  with  their  proposition  for  giving  the  prince  a  com- 
mittee for  a  council,  and  in  course  their  attack  upon  the  duke ;  all  which 
together  excited  such  an  enthusiasm  in  the  nation,  and  among  the  officers 
of  the  navy,  as  produced  the  battle  of  the  Doggerbank,  which  never  would 
have  happened,  in  all  probability,  but  would  have  been  eluded  by  secret  or- 
ders and  various  artifices,  if  the  spirit  raised  in  the  nation  by  the  chain  of 
proceedings  of  which  the  American  memorial  was  the  first  and  an  essential 
link,  had  not  rendered  a  display  of  the  national  bravery  indispensable  for  the 
honour  of  the  navy,  and  perhaps  for  the  safety  of  the  court. 

"  The  memorial  as  a  composition,  has  very  little  merit ;  yet  almost  every 
gazette  in  Europe  has  inserted  it,  and  most  of  them  with  a  compliment,  none 
without  any  criticism.  When  I  was  in  Paris  and  Versailles  afterwards,  no 
man  ever  expressed  to  me  the  smallest  disapprobation  of  it,  or  the  least  appre- 
hension that  it  could  do  any  harm.  On  the  contrary,  several  gentlemen  of 
letters  expressed  higher  compliments  upon  it  than  it  deserved.  The  king  of 
Sweden  has  done  it  a  most  illustrious  honour,  by  quoting  one  of  the  most  ma- 
terial sentiments  in  it,  in  a  public  answer  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain ;  and  the 
emperor  of  Germany  has  since  done  the  author  of  it  the  honour  to  desire  in  the 
character  of  Count  Falkenstein  to  see  him,  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  has 
adopted  the  sentiments  of  it  concerning  religious  liberty  into  a  code  of  laws 
for  his  dominions, — the  greatest  effort  in  favour  of  humanity,  next  to  the 
American  revolution,  which  has  been  produced  in  the  eighteenth  century. 


HAMILTON.  115 

quences  of  his  firmness.  It  also  discloses  his  indignation 
at  the  influence  which  had  been  exerted  against  him, 
charging  expressly,  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  French 

"  As  my  mission  to  this  republic  was  wisely  communicated  to  the  court  of 
Versailles,  who  can  say  that  this  transaction  of  congress  had  not  some  influ- 
ence in  bringing  De  Grasse  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay  ?  Another  thing  I 
ought  to  mention  ;  I  have  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jay,  informing  me  that  in  the 
month  of  June  last,  M.  Del  Campo  was  appointed  by  the  court  of  Madrid  to 
treat  with  him ;  the  exact  time  when  my  memorial  appeared  at  Madrid. 
You  may  possibly  say,  that  my  imagination  and  self-love  carry  me  extraor- 
dinary lengths ;  but  when  one  is  called  upon  to  justify  an  action,  one  should 
look  all  round.  All  I  contend  for  is,  that  the  memorial  has  certainly  done 
no  harm  ;  that  it  is  probable  it  has  done  some  good,  and  that  it  is  possible 
it  has  done  much  more  than  can  be  proved.  A  man  always  makes  an  awk- 
ward figure  when  he  is  justifying  himself  and  his  own  actions,  and  I  hope  I 
shall  be  pardoned.  It  is  easy  to  say,  '  il  abonde  trap  dans  son  sens  ;  il  est 
vain  et  glorieuz ;  il  est  plein  de  lui-meme  ;  il  ne  voit  que  lui ;'  and  other 
modest  things  of  that  sort,  with  which  even  your  Malesherbes,  your  Turgots, 
and  Neckers,  are  sometimes  sacrificed  to  very  small  intrigues. 

"  Your  veterans  in  diplomacy  and  in  affairs  of  state  consider  us  as  a  kind 
of  militia,  and  hold  us,  perhaps,  as  is  natural,  in  some  degree  of  contempt ; 
but  wise  men  know  that  militia  sometimes  gain  victories  over  regular  troops, 
even  by  departing  from  the  rules.  Soon  after  I  had  presented  the  memorial, 
I  wrote  to  the  Due  de  la  Vauguyon  upon  the  subject  of  inviting  or  admitting, 
in  concert,  the  republic  to  accede  to  the  alliance  between  France  and  Ame- 
rica. The  duke  transmitted  that  letter  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  which 
produced  the  offer  to  congress  from  the  king,  to  assist  us  in  forming  a  con- 
nection with  the  republic,  and  the  instructions  upon  the  subject,  which  I 
shall  execute  as  soon  as  the  French  ambassador  thinks  proper.  With  him  it 
now  lies,  and  with  him,  thank  God,  I  have  hitherto  preserved  a  perfectly 
good  understanding,  although  I  differed  from  him  in  opinion  concerning  the 
point  of  time  to  make  the  former  proposition. 

"  The  evacuation  of  the  barrier  towns  has  produced  an  important  commen- 
tary upon  the  conversation  I  had  with  the  duke,  and  his  opinion  upon  that 
occasion.  How  few  weeks  was  it,  after  the  publication  of  my  memorial,  that 
the  Roman  emperor  made  that  memorable  visit  to  Brussels,  Ostend,  Bruges, 
Antwerp,  and  all  the  considerable  maritime  towns  in  his  provinces  of  Bra- 
bant and  Flanders  ?  How  soon  afterwards  his  memorable  journeys  to  Hol- 
land and  to  Paris  ?  Was  not  the  American  memorial  full  of  matter  for  the 
emperor's  contemplation,  when  he  was  at  Ostend,  Antwerp,  and  Bruges  ? 
Was  it  not  full  of  matter,  calculated  to  stimulate  him  to  hasten  his  negotia- 


116  THE    LIFE    OF 

"to  keep  us  dependent  upon  them,  that  we  might  be 
obliged  to  accept  such  terms  of  peace  as  they  should  think 
would  do  for  us."* 

tions  with  France  concerning  the  abolition  of  the  barrier  towns  ?  Was  not 
the  same  matter  equally  calculated  to  stimulate  France  to  finish  such  an 
agreement  with  him,  as  we  have  seen  the  evidence  of  in  the  actual  evacua- 
tion of  those  towns  ?  If  this  evacuation  is  an  advantage  to  France  and  to 
America,  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  by  putting  this  republic  more  in  the  power  of 
France,  and  more  out  of  a  possibility  of  pursuing  the  system  of  Orange  by 
joining  England,  and  my  memorial  is  supposed  to  have  contributed  any  thing 
towards  it,  surely  it  was  worth  the  while. 

"  The  period  since  the  4th  of  May,  1781,  has  been  thick  sown  with  good 
events,  all  springing  out  of  the  American  revolution,  and  connected  with  the 
matter  contained  in  my  memorial.  The  memorial  of  M.  Van  Berckel ;  the 
proposition  of  the  burgomasters  of  Amsterdam  ;  their  attack  upon  the  duke 
of  Brunswick,  and  the  battle  of  Doggerbank  ;  the  appointment  of  Senor  del 
Campo  to  treat  with  Mr.  Jay ;  the  success  of  Colonel  Laurens,  in  obtaining 
orders  for  the  French  fleet  to  go  upon  the  coast  of  America ;  their  victory 
over  Graves,  and  the  capture  of  Cornwallis ;  the  emperor's  journey  to  his 
maritime  towns,  to  Holland,  and  to  Paris ;  his  new  regulations  for  encour- 
aging the  trade  of  his  maritime  towns  ;  his  demolition  of  the  barrier  fortifi- 
cations ;  and  his  most  liberal  and  sublime  ecclesiastical  reformation  ;  and  the 
king  of  Sweden's  reproach  to  the  king  of  England  for  continuing  the  war, 
in  the  very  words  of  my  memorial ; — these  traits  are  all  subsequent  to  that 
memorial,  and  they  are  too  sublime  and  decisive  proofs  of  the  prosperity  and 
glory  of  the  American  cause,  to  admit  the  belief,  that  the  memorial  has  done 
it  any  material  harm. 

"  By  comparing  facts,  and  events,  and  dates,  it  is  impossible  not  to  believe 
that  the  memorial  had  some  influence  in  producing  some  of  them.  When 
courts,  princes,  and  nations,  have  been  long  contemplating  a  great  system 
of  affairs,  and  their  judgments  begin  to  ripen,  and  they  begin  to  see  how 
things  ought  to  go,  and  are  going,  a  small  publication,  holding  up  these  ob- 
jects in  a  clear  point  of  view,  sometimes  sets  a  vast  machine  in  motion  at 
once,  like  the  springing  of  a  mine.  What  a  dust  we  raise  !  said  the  fly  upon 
the  chariot  wheel.  It  is  impossible  to  prove  that  this  whole  letter  is  not  a 
similar  delusion  to  that  of  the  fly.  The  councils  of  princes  are  enveloped 
in  impenetrable  secrecy.  The  true  motives  and  causes  which  govern  their 
actions,  little  or  great,  are  carefully  concealed.  But  I  desire  only  that  these 
events  may  be  all  combined  together,  and  then,  that  an  impartial  judge  may 

*  6  D.  C.  395. 


HAMILTON.  117 

At  a  dark  period  of  the  revolution,  a  few  days  after  the 
plot  of  Andre  had  been  discovered,  congress,  acting  upon 
a  proposition  of  the  empress  of  Russia  for  the  establish- 
ment of  an  armed  neutrality  addressed  to  the  belligerents, 
empowered  their  commissioners  to  accede  to  its  regula- 
tions.* 

It  was  hoped  in  this  mode  to  induce  the  mediation  of 
Russia,  and  soon  after  Dana  was  accredited  as  minister  at 
that  court.  He  was  authorized  to  sign  the  convention  for 
the  protection  of  neutral  commerce,  either  with  Russia  in 
conjunction  with  the  other  neutral  powers,  or  separately 
with  either  of  them. 

Dana  apprised  Franklin  of  his  commission,  who  advised 
its  being  communicated  to  Vergennes,  and  that  his  opinion 
should  be  taken,  whether  it  would  be  proper  to  disclose 
his  powers  to  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  obtain  their 
approbation  before  he  proceeded  to  Russia.  From  the 
latter  part  of  this  advice  he  dissented,  for  reasons  to  which 
Franklin  assented ;  and  though  the  conduct  of  Vergennes 
satisfied  him  that  it  was  the  policy  of  France  not  to  ren- 
der the  United  States  "  independent"  by  new  allies,  he 
proceeded  on  his  mission. 

His  instructions  indicated  it  as  "a  leading  and  capital 
point,  that  the  United  States  should  be  formally  admitted 
as  a  party  to  the  convention  of  maritime  powers,"  and 

say,  if  he  can,  that  he  believes  that  that  homely  harmless  memorial  had  no 
share  in  producing  any  part  of  this  great  complication  of  good. 

"  But  be  all  these  speculations  and  conjectures  as  they  will,  the  foresight 
of  which  could  not  have  been  sufficiently  clear  to  have  justified  the  measure, 
it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  say,  that  the  measure  was  absolutely  necessary  and 
unavoidable.  I  should  have  been  contemptible  and  ridiculous  without  it.  By 
it  I  have  secured  to  myself  and  my  mission  universal  decency  and  respect, 
though  no  open  acknowledgment  or  avowal.  I  write  this  to  you  in  confi- 
dence ;  you  may  entirely  suppress  it,  or  communicate  it  in  confidence,  as  you 
judge  for  the  public  good." 

*  October  5, 1780. 


118  THE    LIFE    OF 

directed  him  to  communicate  the  general  object  of  his 
mission  to  the  resident  envoy  of  France. 

On  arriving  at  St.  Petersburg,  he  consulted  that  envoy, 
who  evinced  a  decided  repugnance  to  the  disclosure  of 
his  objects  or  powers.  As  the  fortunes  of  the  United 
States  rose,  repeated  applications  were  made  to  him  for 
an  introduction  to  the  court.  They  were  discouraged, 
until  at  last — tied  down  by  his  instructions,  and  con- 
vinced that,  alone  and  unsustained,  his  reception  would 
be  refused — he  apprised  congress  of  his  position,  and  of 
the  necessity  of  douceurs  to  the  Russian  cabinet  before 
a  negotiation  could  be  opened.  Thus,  by  the  complicated 
policy  of  France,  America  stood  dumb  before  the  powers 
of  Europe. 

This  letter  of  Dana  was  referred  to  a  committee,  of 
which  Madison  was  chairman.  Though  remote,  yet 
Hamilton  saw  the  advantages  of  opening  a  commerce 
with  RUSSIA,  provided  a  treaty  could  be  formed  on  equal 
terms  without  bestowing  presents.  With  this  view,  he 
moved  that  Dana  "  be  informed  that  the  treaties  lately 
entered  into  for  restoring  peace,  have  caused  such  an  al- 
teration in  the  affairs  of  these  states,  as  to  have  removed 
the  primary  object  of  his  mission  to  the  court  of  Russia — 
the  acquisition  of  new  supports  to  our  independence.  That 
with  respect  to  a  commercial  treaty  with  Russia,  they 
consider  the  benefits  of  it  to  this  country  in  an  extensive 
degree  as  rather  remote,  and  have  therefore  little  present 
inducement  to  enter  into  it  besides  a  desire  of  cultivating 
the  friendship  of  that  court,  and  preserving  a  consistency 
with  the  disposition  already  manifested  towards  forming 
a  connection  therewith ;  and  also  of  laying  the  foundation 
of  a  future  intercourse,  when  the  circumstances  of  the  two 
countries  may  be  more  favourable  to  the  same.  That  as 
experience  will  enable  both  nations  to  form  a  better  judg- 
ment hereafter  of  the  principles  upon  which  that  inter- 


HAMILTON.  119 

course  may  be  most  advantageously  couducted,  congress 
would  wish  any  treaty  now  formed  to  be  of  temporary 
duration  and  limited  to  a  fixed  period.  That  in  this 
view,  unless  he  shall  have  already  formed  engagements  or 
made  proposals  from  which  he  cannot  easily  recede,  of  a 
more  indefinite  and  extensive  nature  before  this  reaches 
him,  he  be  instructed  to  confine  the  duration  of  the  pro- 
posed treaty  of  commerce  to  fifteen  years,  agreeable  to 
the  term  limited  in  a  similar  treaty  with  Sweden,  and  to 
stipulate  expressly  that  it  should  be  subject  to  the  revisal 
of  congress,  and  that  in  all  matters  he  insist  upon  exact 
reciprocity."  As  to  the  proposed  douceur,  "  that  he  be  in- 
formed, as  by  the  confederation  no  person  holding  offices 
under  the  United  States  are  permitted  to  receive  presents 
from  foreign  powers,  so  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  situa- 
tion or  policy  of  these  states  to  adopt  that  practice  in  their 
transactions  with  other  nations."  After  two  divisions, 
one  of  which  was  on  a  modification  of  the  prohibition  of 
douceurs  at  the  instance  of  Madison,  so  as  to  permit  the 
payment  of  any  that  might  have  been  stipulated,  this  mo- 
tion failed. 

On  the  following  day,  Madison  proposed  an  instruction 
to  decline  making  any  propositions  for  a  treaty  with  Russia 
unless  Dana  was  pre-committed ;  and  if  so,  to  limit  it  to 
fifteen  years,  omitting  the  prohibition  of  presents.  This 
was  defeated,  and  a  substitute  offered  by  Elsworth,  to 
limit  the  duration  of  any  treaty  then  in  progress  to  fifteen 
years,  subject  to  revisal,  passed  unanimously. 

The  question  of  acceding  to  the  armed  neutrality  had 
been  raised  in  the  course  of  this  debate  by  Hamilton. 
He  offered  as  an  amendment  this  important  declaratory 
resolution : — 

"  That  though  congress  approve  the  principles  of  the 
armed  neutrality  founded  on  the  liberal  basis  of  a  main- 
tenance of  the  rights  of  neutral  nations  and  of  the  pri- 


120  THE    LIFE    OF 

vileges  of  commerce,  yet  they  are  unwilling,  at  this  junc- 
ture, to  become  a  party  to  a  confederacy  which  may  here- 
after too  far  complicate  the  interests  of  the  United  States 
with  the  politics  of  Europe  ;  and,  therefore,  if  such  a  pro- 
gress is  not  yet  made  in  this  business  as  may  make  it  dis- 
honourable to  recede,  it  is  their  desire  that  no  further 
measures  may  be  taken  at  present  towards  the  admission 
of  the  United  States  into  that  confederacy."  This  amend- 
ment was  referred,  and  a  report  subsequently  passed,  which 
stated,  "  that  as  the  primary  object  of  the  proposed  acces- 
sion to  the  neutral  confederacy  no  longer  can  operate,  and 
as  the  true  interest  of  these  states  requires  they  should  be 
as  little  as  possible  entangled  in  the  politics  and  controver- 
sies, of  European  nations,"  it  was  inexpedient  to  renew  the 
powers  of  Dana. 

It  approved  the  liberal  principles  of  that  confederacy, 
but  directed  the  American  commissioners,  "  in  case  they 
should  comprise  in  the  definitive  treaty  (with  Great  Bri- 
tain) any  stipulations  amounting  to  a  recognition  of  the 
rights  of  neutral  nations,  to  avoid  accompanying  them  by 
any  engagements  which  shall  oblige  the  contracting  parties 
to  support  those  stipulations  by  arms."  Thus  it  is  seen 
that  at  Hamilton's  instance  the  great  principle  which 
should  be  especially  the  governing  maxim  of  a  republic, 
the  principle  of  an  absolute  neutrality,  was  inscribed  on  the 
front  of  our  national  councils.*  It  is  an  evidence  of  the 
wisdom  of  this  resolution,  that  each  of  the  parties  to  the 
armed  neutrality  entered  into  engagements  within  thirteen 
years  after  its  origin,  in  direct  contravention  of  it. 

France  was  still  pursuing  her  system  studiously.  Va- 
rious communications  were  made  from  time  to  time  by  La 

*  Madison,  vol.  1,  p.  454, 460,  does  not  give  these  important  proceedings. 
He  merely  refers  to  the  secret  journal,  and  adds  that  the  passage  relating  to 
the  armed  neutrality  was  generally  concurred  in,  and  assigns  certain  reasons 
for  the  disagreements  as  to  the  treaty  of  commerce  with  Russia. 


HAMILTON.  121 

Luzerne,  the  objects  of  which  were  to  prepare  congress  for 
such  concessions  as  it  might  be  her  policy  to  require.  In 
one  instance  they  were  informed  that  if  she  did  not  obtain 
"  for  every  state"  all  they  wished,  the  sacrifice  must  be 
ascribed  to  necessity;  and  he  expressed  "his  satisfaction  at 
the  extensive  powers  with  which  the  ministers  are  invested 
as  to  the  matter  of  boundary  and  the  truce,  which,  he 
said,  "  the  interests  of  France  as  well  as  of  the  United 
States,  require  to  be  as  long  as  possible"  They  were  sub- 
sequently reminded  of  the  consequences  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  rejection  of  " reasonable  terms"  Massachusetts 
understood  this  language,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
October,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  instructed  her 
delegates  "  in  a  future  settlement  of  peace*  to  insist"  upon 
the  fisheries.  This  act  was  referred*  the  following  month. 

A  report  was  then  prepared  by  Madison,f  containing 
new  instructions  to  the  American  commissioners.  By  this 
report  the  previous  territorial  limits  were  to  be  insisted 
upon.  As  the  common  right  of  fishery  was  an  attribute 
of  sovereignty,  France  was  urged  to  obtain  a  stipulation 
in  favour  of  it,  but  if  not  attainable,  by  no  means  to  sur- 
render it.  It  required  that  there  should  be  no  engage- 
ment for  the  restitution  of  confiscated  property,  nor  for 
the  return  of  fugitives  or  exiles,  as  "  any  such  stipulation 
would  not  only  be  dishonourable  to  the  governments  of 
these  states,  but  obnoxious  to  the  people  at  large." 

"  It  is  not,"  it  added,  "  unworthy  of  the  circumspection 
of  his  most  Christian  majesty,  to  reflect  whether  the  resto- 
ration of  those  persons  may  not  produce  an  unequal  compe- 
tition with  his  subjects,  in  trade.  Many  among  them,  be- 
sides the  advantage  which  they  possess  from  the  know- 
ledge of  our  language,  have  accurately  informed  themselves 

*  To  Madison,  Carroll,  and  Lovell. 
t  Vol.  1,  No.  20,  MSS.  in  department  of  state. 

16 


122  THE    LIFE    OP 

of  the  nature  of  our  commerce  from  actual  experience." 
And  it  proposed,  "  that  no  stipulation  should  be  admitted 
limiting  the  power  of  the  United  States  to  impose  restric- 
tions on  British  commerce,  assigning  as  Ihe  motive,  that 
this  power  "  alone  will  leave  to  his  allies  the  future  oppor- 
tunity of  manifesting  their  preference  of  his  interests  to 
those  of  his  enemies  and  rivals." 

This  report  was  amended,*  and  on  the  eighth  of  Janu- 
ary following  was  laid  before  the  house.  Having  admitted 
that  the  fisheries  and  other  claims  of  the  United  States 
were  not  to  be  included  in  the  ultimatum,  it  instructed 
their  ministers  "  to  acquaint  his  most  Christian  majesty, 
that,  notwithstanding  the  occasion  presented  to  the  United 
States  by  the  signal  and  various  advantages  gained  over 
the  enemy,  of  enlarging  their  ultimatum  for  peace,  the 
firm  reliance  which  congress  have  on  the  friendship  and 
influence  of  his  majesty,  has  determined  them  not  to  de- 
part from  their  (previous)  resolution,  by  which  all  the  ob- 
jects of  their  desires  and  expectations,  excepting  only  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  and  their  alliance  with 
his  majesty,  are  eventually  submitted  to  his  councils.  But 
in  order  to  make  him  more  fully  sensible  of  the  extent  and 
foundation  of  these  desires  and  expectations,  have  thought 
it  expedient  that  some  observations  should  be  made  to  him 
relative  to  the  several  objects  which  are  most  likely  to  fall 
within  the  compass  of  negotiation." 

The  objects  were  then  stated.  They  were  the  bounda- 
ries— the  fisheries — the  exclusion  of  any  provision  for  the 
restoration  of  confiscated  property.  Again  adducing  as  the 
motive,  that  it  will  leave  his  allies  the  future  opportunity  of 
manifesting  their  preference  of  his  interests  to  those  of  his 
enemies  and  rivals,  "  Congress,"  it  declared,  "  do  for  these 
reasons,  most  earnestly  desire,  expect,  and  entreat"  that  his 

*  3  S.  J.  151.— 1782.    Madison,  Lovell,  Carroll 


HAMILTON.  123 

majesty  will  spare  no  effort  to  exclude  any  restraint  upon 
the  United  States  from  imposing  on  the  trade  of  Great 
Britain  any  duties,  restrictions,  or  prohibitions,  which  may 
hereafter  be  judged  expedient,  unless,  and  so  far  only,  as 
a  relaxation  in  this  point  may  be  essentially  necessary  for 
obtaining  peace  or  the  several  objects  above  mentioned. 

The  views  of  the  French  ministry,  and  the  nature  and 
extent  of  their  influence,  are  also  shown  in  a  despatch  from 
Marbois,  then  secretary  of  the  French  legation,  dated  at 
Philadelphia,  on  the  thirteenth  of  March,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-two.*  It  stated  "  that  a  delegate  from 
congress,  lately  arrived  in  Carolina,  has,  it  is  said,  been 
chosen  governor.  He  has  communicated  to  the  persons 
of  most  influence  in  this  state  the  ultimatum  of  the  month 

of last,  who  approved  of  the  clauses-  in  general,  and 

particularly  that  one  which  leaves  the  king  master  of  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace  or  truce,  excepting  indepen- 
dence and  treaties  of  alliance.  A  delegate  from  South 
Carolina  told  me  that  this  ultimatum  was  equally  well 
known  to  persons  of  note  in  this  state,  and  this  had  given 
entire  satisfaction  there.  It  is  the  same  with  regard  to 
several  other  states ;  and  I  believe  I  may  assure  you,  upon 
the  testimony  of  several  delegates,  that  this  measure  is  ap- 
proved by  a  great  majority." 

It  apprised  the  court  of  the  excitement  in  Massachusetts 
as  to  the  fisheries,  and  suggested,  as  a  means  of  preventing 
the  success  of  the  advocates  of  them,  that  the  king  should 
cause  "  his  surprise  to  be  intimated  to  congress  or  to  the 


*  Madison  observes  :  "  Marbois  lately  took  occasion  in  our  family  to  com- 
plain of  ungenerous  proceedings  of  the  British  against  individuals,  as  well  as 
against  their  enemies  at  large ;  and  finally  signified  that  he  was  no  stranger 
to  the  letter  transmitted  to  congress,  which  he  roundly  averred  to  be  spuri- 
ous."— Madison  Papers,  vol.  1,  p.  531.  See  Life  of  Jay,  vol.  1,  p.  146,  which 
states  that  "  he  acknowledged  it  to  be  his,"  to  "  a  gentleman  employed  in 
the  foreign  service  of  the  United  States." 


124  THE    LIFE    OF 

ministers  that  the  Newfoundland  fisheries  have  been  in- 
cluded in  the  new  instructions  ;  that  the  United  States 
set  forth  pretensions  without  paying  regard  to  the  king's 
rights,  and  without  considering  the  impossibility  they 
are  under  of  making  conquests  and  keeping  what  belongs 
to  Great  Britain.  A  declaration  that  France  was  not  bound 
as  to  the  other  fisheries  was  urged,  while  New-York,  Charles- 
ton, and  Penobscot,  were  in  the  enemy's  hands ; — "our  allies 
will  be  less  tractable  than  ever  upon  these  points  whenever 
they  recover  these  important  posts."  "  There  are  some  ju- 
dicious persons  to  whom  one  may  speak  of  giving  up  the 
fisheries,  and  the  (lands)  of  the  west,  for  the  sake  of  peace. 
The  advocates  for  peace  are  those  who  live  in  the  country. 
The  inhabitants  of  towns  do  not  wish  for  it ;  but  it  is  a  happy 
circumstance  that  this  division  is  nearly  equal  in  the  con- 
gress and  among  the  states,  since  our  influence  can  incline 
the  beam  either  for  peace  or  war,  whichever  way  we  choose" 

The  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Yorktown,  had  deter- 
mined the  British  ministry  to  renew  their  efforts  to  nego- 
tiate directly  with  the  United  Slates.  A  letter*  was  ad- 
dressed to  Franklin  by  David  Hartley,  after  a  conference 
with  Lord  North,  suggesting,  as  general  grounds  of  a  pro- 
posed negotiation  tending  towards  peace  under  liberal  con- 
structions, that  "  the  question  of  dependence  or  indepen- 
dence should  remain  sub-silentio  and  for  a  separate  treaty. 
Franklin's  reply  treated  with  just  indignation  the  idea  of  a 
separate  peace,  and  quoted  the  treaty  of  alliance  with 
France,  stating  that  the  "  great  difficulty  may  be  easily  got 
over,  as  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  our  independence  is  not 
made  necessary ."f 

Another  agent  was  despatched  for  a  similar  purpose  to 
Adams,  who  opposed  all  idea  of  a  truce,  adding,  that  the 
powers  of  the  commissioners  were  known. 

*  December,  1781.  t  3  D.  C.  284. 


HAMILTON.  125 

Lord  North,  whose  object  was  represented  to  have  been 
to  draw  the  United  States  into  a  separate  negotiation, 
and  thus  to  excite  the  distrust  of  France,  resigned.  An 
overture  was  then  made*  by  his  successors  through  Lord 
Cholmondelly ;  and  a  letter  was  written  by  Franklin  to 
Lord  Shelburne,  conveying  his  wishes  for  a  general  peace. 
This  induced  the  mission  of  Richard  Oswald  to  Paris, 
by  whom  an  interview  was  had  with  Franklin  and  Ver- 
gennes,  in  which  the  readiness  to  enter  into  a  joint  nego- 
tiation by  all  the  allies  for  a  general  peace  wras  avowed. 

A  similar  overture  was  at  the  same  time  made  to  Adams, 
in  which  it  was  inquired,  "  whether  there  was  any  authori- 
ty to  treat  of  a  separate  peace  ;  and,  whether  there  could 
be  any  accommodation  upon  any  terms  short  of  inde- 
pendence." He  replied  "that  a  tacit  or  express  acknow- 
ledgment of  independence  was  indispensable,"  and  "  that 
no  treaty  could  be  made  separate  from  France."  Franklin, 
alluding  to  this  letter,  intimated  that  from  a  recent  "  act" 
as  to  prisoners,  it  will  be  less  difficult  for  them  to  acknow- 
ledge it  expressly.  Referring  to  a  former  letter,  Adams 
stated,  "  that  when  he  hinted  that  he  thought  an  express 
acknowledgment  of  independence  might  now  be  insisted 
on,  he  did  not  mean  that  we  should  insist  upon  such  an 
article  in  the  treaty.  If  they  make  a  peace  with  the 
United  States  of  America,  this  is  acknowledgment  enough 
for  me." 

Oswald  was  followed  by  Grenville.  His  first  commis- 
sion was  merely  to  treat  with  France  ;  a  second  was  ob- 
tained, extending  his  powers  to  "any  other  prince  or 
state,"  with  instructions  to  propose  the  independence  of 
the  United  States  in  the  first  instance,  and  "  not  as"  a  con- 
dition of  a  general  treaty. 

At  this  moment  the  Rockingham  ministry  was  broken 

»  April  14,  1782. 


126  THE    LIFE    OF 

up.  Fox  and  his  friends,  who  had  advised  the  preliminary 
acknowledgment  of  independence,  resigned,  and  Lord 
Shelburne,  who,  in  conformity  with  the  feelings  of  the 
king,  had  opposed  it,  took  the  first  place  in  the  cabinet. 
Acting  upon  his  previous  policy,  Shelburne  declared  in  the 
house  of  lords,  "  that  whenever  parliament  should  acknow- 
ledge the  independence  of  America,  the  sun  of  England's 
glory  was  set  forever." 

As  this  acknowledgment  became  the  vital  question  in 
the  negotiation,  it  is  necessary  to  advert  to  previous  cir- 
cumstances. It  has  been  seen  that  Franklin  had  not  con- 
sidered this  as  a  preliminary  to  be  insisted  upon,  acting 
in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of  the  fifteenth  of  June, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  dictated  by  France. 
When  those  instructions  were  received  by  him,  in  his  let- 
ter to  the  president  of  congress,  after  stating*  "  the  satis- 
faction of  Vergennes  with  the  unreserved  confidence  in 
his  court,"  and  his  assurance  that  it  would  not  be  abused, 
he  observed,  "  that  I  cannot  but  think  the  confidence  well 
and  judiciously  placed,  and  that  it  will  have  happy  effects." 

A  not  less  decided  approval  of  this  commission  was 
expressed  by  Adams ;  he  accepted  it  with  satisfaction,  de- 
claring that  he  thought  "  it  a  measure  essentially  right ; 
that  it  was  a  demonstration  of  greater  respect  to  the 
powers  of  Europe,  and  must  be  more  satisfactory  to  the 
people  of  America  than  any  former  one."f 

What  his  actual  opinions  as  to  France  were,  it  is  not 
easy  to  judge.  He  declared  "  that  France  was  the  natu- 
ral friend  of  the  United  States,  America  the  natural  friend 
of  France  ;  that  England  was  the  natural  enemy  of  France, 
and  therefore  of  the  United  States."J  But  he  also  stated, 
"  that  to  form  immediate  commercial  connections  with  that 


*  3  D.  C.  236.  t  6  D.  C.  160-2.— October  4, 1781. 

I  5  D.  C.  105. 


HAMILTON.  127 

half  of  Europe  which  ever  has  been,  and  with  little  varia- 
tion ever  will  be,  opposite  to  the  house  of  Bourbon,  is  a 
fundamental  maxim  of  that  system  of  American  politics 
which  I  have  pursued  invariably  since  the  beginning  of 
this  war"*  He  avowed  that  "  every  suspicion  of  a  wa- 
vering disposition  in  (her)  court  concerning  the  support 
of  American  independence  is  groundless,  is  ridiculous,  is 
impossible  ;"f  but  he  also  asserted,  that  "  the  policy  of 
France,  from  his  first  observation  of  it  to  this  hour,  had 
been  as  averse  to  other  powers  acknowledging  the  inde- 
pendence of  America,  as  England  had  been."J 

When  these  instructions  were  received  by  Jay,  he 
acknowledged  to  congress  the  confidence  evinced  in  him, 
and  his  readiness  to  serve  in  any  capacity.  But  he  re- 
marked, "  As  an  American,  I  feel  an  interest  in  the  dig- 
nity of  my  country,  which  renders  it  difficult  for  me  to 
reconcile  myself  to  the  idea  of  the  sovereign,  indepen- 
dent states  of  America,  submitting,  in  the  persons  of  their 
ministers,  to  be  absolutely  governed  by  the  advice  and 
opinions  of  the  servants  of  another  sovereign,  especially 
in  a  case  of  such  national  importance."  He  admitted 
the  "gratitude  and  confidence"  due  to  France,  that  it 
would  probably  be  in  her  power  "  almost  to  dictate  the 
terms  of  peace ;"  but  he  declared  that  he  did  not  believe 
that  America,  thus  casting  herself  into  the  arms  of  the 
king  of  France,  would  advance  either  her  interest  or  her 
reputation  with  that  or  other  nations,  and  therefore  en- 
treated to  be  relieved  from  a  station,  where,  in  character  of 
minister,  he  must  receive  and  obey,  (under  the  name  of  opin- 
ions,) the  directions  of  those  "on  whom  he  really  thought 
no  American  minister  ought  to  be  dependent."^  This  let- 
ter was  dated  in  September,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 

*  7  D.  C.  255.  t  4  D.  C.  292.  t  6  D.  C.  509. 

§  7  D.  C.  451. 


128  THE    LIFE    OF 

one.  It  was  followed  by  another,  asking  permission,  in 
consequence  of  ill  health,  and  because  no  prospect  existed 
of  any  benefits  from  Spain,  to  visit  either  France  or  Hol- 
land. Congress  passed  a  resolution  approving  his  opinions 
as  to  the  Mississippi,  and  had  appointed  him  a  commissioner 
to  treat  for  peace,  yet,  at  the  moment  when  every  probabili- 
ty existed  of  a  negotiation  being  opened  at  Paris,  would 
not  grant  him  permission  to  leave  Spain,  and  proceed  to 
the  place  where  this  negotiation  was  to  be  conducted. 
Other  motives  may  have  influenced  their  decision ;  but  it 
is  not  an  improbable  conjecture,  that  his  sentiments  as 
to  the  policy  of  France,  and  the  indignation  he  had 
expressed  as  to  his  instructions,  had  weight  in  this  deter- 
mination. 

The  daily  subterfuges  of  Spain,  countenanced  by  the 
ambassador  of  France,  satisfied  Jay  that  Spain  had  re- 
solved not  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  United 
States.  He  declared,  "  that  many  reasons  induced  him  to 
think  that  France  did  not,  in  fact,  wish  to  see  us  treated 
as  independent  by  other  nations  until  after  a  peace,  lest 
we  should  become  less  manageable  in  proportion  as  our 
dependence  on  her  shall  diminish  ;  and  that  England  would 
be  the  first  nation  to  acknowledge  that  independence."  Yet 
he  properly  affirmed,  "  that  as  long  as  France  continued 
faithful,  that  we  ought  to  continue  hand  in  hand  to  prose- 
cute the  war,  until  all  their  as  well  as  all  our  reasonable 
objects  can  be  obtained  by  a  peace ;  for  that  he  would 
rather  see  America  ruined  than  dishonoured." 

Having  received  an  invitation  from  Franklin  to  join  him, 
Jay  soon  after  proceeded  to  Paris,  where  he  had  the  pa- 
triotism to  act  upon  his  commission,  and  the  firmness  to 
disregard  his  instructions.  On  his  arrival  there,  on  the 
twenty-third  of  June,  he  found  the  aged  minister  alone ; 
Adams  being  yet  in  Holland,  Laurens  a  prisoner  in  En- 
gland, Jefferson,  deterred,  as  he  says,  "  by  the  uncommon 


HAMILTON.  129 

vigilance  of  the  enemy's  cruisers,"  remaining  in  Ame- 
rica.* f 

The  British  minister  had  in  the  interval  employed  agents 
to  ascertain  the  disposition  of  the  American  commission- 
ers, as  to  a  waiver  of  an  express  recognition  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  their  country.  They  reached  Paris  after 
Jay's  arrival  there,  and  returned  convinced  that  every  at- 
tempt to  inveigle  the  United  States  must  fail. 

These  overtures  alarmed  Vergennes.  J  He  saw  that  the 
capture  of  Yorktown  had  placed  England  and  the  United 
States  in  a  position  which  must  result  in  peace.  How  to 
control  its  terms,  was  with  him  the  only  remaining  ques- 
tion, wearied  as  France  was  with  the  continued  demands 
for  aid.  His  efforts  to  exclude  the  United  States  from  a 
general  congress,  and  to  prevent  a  direct  negotiation  with 
Great  Britain,  had  succeeded.  Thus  Paris  was  still  the  seat 
of  negotiation.  It  was  important  to  thwart  any  attempts 

*  Jay's  Life,  vol.  1,  p.  170. 

t  "  Such  was  the  state  of  my  family,  that  I  could  not  leave  it,  nor  could 
I  expose  it  to  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  and  of  capture  by  the  British  ships  then 
covering  the  ocean.  I  saw,  too,  that  the  labouring  oar  was  really  at  home, 
where  much  was  to  be  done  of  the  most  permanent  interest,  in  new  model- 
ling our  governments,  and  much  to  defend  our  fanes  and  firesides  from  the 
desolations  of  an  invading  enemy,  pressing  on  our  country  in  every  point." — 
Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  1.  p.  41. 

t  "  The  letter  in  the  first  page  of  the  Gazette  of  this  morning,"  Madison 
wrote  Randolph,  "  was  written  by  Mr.  Marbois.  In  an  evening  of  promis- 
cuous conversation  I  suggested  to  him  my  opinion  that  the  insidiousness  of 
the  British  court,  and  the  good  faith  of  our  ally,  displayed  in  the  late  abor- 
tive attempt  of  the  former  to  seduce  the  latter,  might  with  advantage  be 
made  known,  in  some  form  or  other,  to  the  public  at  large.  He  said  he 
would  think  of  the  matter,  and  next  day  sent  me  the  letter  in  question,  with 
a  request  that  I  would  revise  and  translate  it  for  the  press,  the  latter  of  which 
was  done.  I  mention  this,  that  you  may  duly  appreciate  facts  and  senti- 
ments contained  in  this  publication."  This  was  suggested  by  propositions 
of  England  for  a  separate  peace — called  by  Madison  an  "  insidious  step." — 
1  Mad.  131, 141.  It  may  be  asked,  Did  England  form  the  alliance  against 
herself  ?  Was  she  bound  to  respect  it  ? 

17 


130  THE    LIFE    OF 

to  transfer  it  elsewhere.  With  this  view  a  verbal  commu- 
nication was  made  by  the  French  minister  to  the  secretary 
of  foreign  affairs,  calling  upon  congress  to  declare,  "  that 
in  case  commissioners  offered  to  treat  upon  this  continent, 
they  should  be  referred  to  the  ministers  of  the  United 
States,  who  are  provided  with  instructions  on  this  subject 
in  Europe  ;  that  the  court  of  London  should  address  itself 
to  these,  and  that  it  is  impossible  that  the  seat  of  negotia- 
tion should  be  in  America"* 

This  suggestion  produced  the  desired  result.  A  reso- 
lutionf  was  reported  by  Madison,  which  declared,  in  case 
such  overtures  should  be  made,  that  "  congress  will  not  de- 
part from  the  measures  which  they  have  heretofore  taken 
for  preventing  delay,  and  for  conducting  the  discussions 
in  confidence  and  in  concert  with  his  most  Christian  ma- 
jesty." 

Madison's  report  of  January  had,  in  the  mean  time,  re- 
mained with  the  committee  to  which  it  was  referred.  It 
was  not  brought  forward  until  August,  when  a  paper  was 
presented  to  congress,  prepared  by  Edmund  Randolph, 
containing  facts  and  observations  on  the  claims  not  inclu- 
ded in  the  ultimatum  of  the  fifteenth  of  June,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-one. 

This  report  was  in  conformity  with  the  previous  one  of 
Madison.  A  motion  for  revoking  the  power  given  to 
France  was  again  made.  "  It  was  pushed,"  Madison  wrote 
Randolph, "  with  the  expected  earnestness,  but  was  parried, 
and  will  issue,  I  believe,  in  an  adoption  of  your  report, 
with  a  representation  thereupon  to  the  court  of  France."  J  § 

»  3  D.  C.  297.  t  May  31,  1782.— 3  S.  J.  138. 

t  Madison  Papers,  v.  1,  p.  159.          , 

§  "  In  my  last  I  informed  you  that  the  motion  to  rescind  the  control 
given  to  France  over  the  American  ministers  had  been  parried,  and  would 
probably  end  in  an  adoption  of  your  report.  It  was  parried  by  a  substitute 
so  expressed  as  to  give  a  committee  sufficient  latitude  in  reporting  without 


HAMILTON.  131 

Another  conference  was  had  in  September  with  the 
French  minister ;  on  this  occasion,  extracts  from  several 
letters  addressed  to  him  by  the  Count  De  Vergennes,  were 
read :  one  of  the  ninth  of  April,  stating  that  "  their  joint 
efforts  would  be  crowned  with  success,  if  on  the  one  hand 
making  the  greatest  exertions  to  procure  the  completest 
satisfaction,  they  on  the  other  hand  confined  themselves 
within  such  bounds  of  moderation*  as  would  give  no  um- 
brage to  any  one  of  the  powers  at  war  with  Great  Bri- 
tain." Others  of  the  second  of  May  and  twenty-eighth 
of  June  were  produced,  intimating  that  it  was  now  evi- 
dently the  object  of  Great  Britain  to  lessen  their  exertions 
on  this  continent,  to  adopt  a  defensive  war,  and  having 
succeeded  in  one  of  these  objects,  to  return  against  the 
United  States  with  redoubled  efforts.  Congress  were  ex- 
horted to  declare  that  no  peace  but  a  general  one  would 
be  attended  to  ;  they  were  assured  that  when  the  negotia- 
tions were  entered  into  with  sincerity,  France  would  exert 
her  good  offices  on  all  points  connected  with  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  United  States  ;  that  congress'  were  themselves 
sensible  of  the  distinction  between  the  conditions  of  jus- 
tice and  rigour,  and  those  of  convenience  and  compliance, 
which  depended  on  the  good  or  bad  situation  of  affairs ; 
that  though  the  circumstances  of  the  allies  were  very 
promising,  such  events  might  happen  as  might  make  it 
advisable  to  adopt  the  part  of  moderation.  The  necessity 
of  England  being  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  treat- 
ing separately  was  urged,  and  they  were  called  on  to 
proclaim  that  the  United  States  would  not  make  peace 
without  the  concurrence  of  their  ally,  and  that  if  any 

implying  on  the  part  of  congress  a  design  to  alter  past  instructions ;  the 
composition  of  the   committee  appointed    according   well  with  the   object 
of  the  substitute,"  &c. — Madison  to  Edmund  Randolph. — Madison  Papers, 
v.  1.  160.— August  20,  1782. 
*  September  24,  1782. 


132  THE    LIFE    OF 

overtures  were  to  be  made,  the  American  plenipotentia- 
ries were  sufficiently  empowered  to  receive  them. 

This  communication  was  referred  to  a  larger  committee. 
Their  report,  after  expressing  the  utmost  confidence  in 
the  assurances  and  good  offices  of  France,  declared,*  that 
"  considering  the  territorial  claims  of  these  states  as  here- 
tofore made,  their  participation  of  the  fisheries,  and  of  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  not  only  as  their  indu- 
bitable rights,  but  as  essential  to  their  prosperity,  they 
trust  that  his  majesty's  efforts  will  be  successfully  employ- 
ed -to  obtain  a  sufficient  provision  and  security  for  those 
rights.  Having  avowed,  "  that  any  claim  of  restitution  or 
compensation  for  property  confiscated,  will  meet  with  in- 
superable obstacles,  not  only  on  account  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  individual  states,"  but  of  the  wanton  depre- 
dations of  the  enemy,  they  express  a  further  trust,  that 
"the  circumstances  of  the  allies  at  the  negotiations  for 
peace  will  be  so  prosperous,  as  to  render  these  expecta- 
tions consistent  with  the  spirit  and  moderation  recommended 
by  his  majesty.^ 

The  wishes  of  the  king  of  England  had,  during  this 
period,  been  consulted  by  his  ministry,  and  an  act  was 
passed  "  to  enable  him  to  conclude  a  peace  or  truce"  with 
certain  "  COLONIES"  therein  mentioned.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  July,  Oswald  received  a  warrant  to  treat  in  pursu- 
ance of  this  act.  This  warrant  was  submitted  to  Ver- 
gennes,  Franklin,  and  Jay. 

Vergennes  gave  his  opinion  that  it  might  be  acted  upon, 
"  that  names  signified  little,  that  an  acknowledgment,  in- 
stead of  preceding,  must,  in  the  natural  course  of  things, 
be  the  effect  of  the  treaty,  and  that  it  would  not  be  rea- 


*  October  3,  1782.— 3  S.  J.  243. 

1"  This  report  was  from  Madison,  Duane,  Rutledge,  Montgomery,  and 
Carroll. 


HAMILTON.  133 

sonable  to  expect  the  effect  before  the  cause."  He  urged 
an  exchange  of  powers  with  the  British  commissioners,  on 
the  ground  that  an  acceptance  of  them  would  be  a  tacit 
admittance  of  it. 

Franklin  had  always  intended  to  secure  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States ;  but  as  to  the  mode,  it 
has  been  seen  that  he  would  have  been  satisfied  with  a 
tacit  acknowledgment  of  it.  Adhering  to  this  opinion, 
he  concurred  with  Vergennes,  and  sustained  this  course 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  an  acquiescence  with  the 
views  of  that  minister,  as  prescribed  by  his  instruc- 
tions. Jay  dissented  from  this  opinion ;  he  considered 
the  instructions  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-nine, 
framed  by  Gouverneur  Morris,  as  indicating  the  sentiments 
of  the  nation  before  its  counsels  had  been  influenced  by 
France ;  and  although  he  then  voted  for  a  tacit  recogni- 
tion, the  position  of  the  country  had  changed — the  Ameri- 
can arms  had  triumphed,  and  England  had  resolved  on 
peace. 

These  considerations  would  have  been  sufficient  of  them- 
selves, but  there  was  another  which  could  not  have  been 
without  weight.  Whatever  policy  might  have  been  pre- 
viously adopted,  the  public  declaration  of  Lord  Shelburne 
left  no  alternative  consistent  with  the  honour  of  the  coun- 
try, but  an  open,  explicit,  preliminary  acknowledgment 
of  its  independence.  Jay  did  not  conceal  from  Franklin 
the  suspicions  which  the  readiness  of  Vergennes  to  waive 
this  point  had  produced.  The  French  minister  had,  on 
previous  occasions,  when  he  knew  that  such  a  requisition 
was  an  insuperable  bar  to  all  negotiation  on  the  part 
of  England,  declared  that  it  must  be  insisted  upon.  That 
with  all  the  advantages  in  his  favour,  so  practised  a 
statesman  should  have  abandoned  this  opinion,  if  he  had 
ever  seriously  entertained  it,  without  some  motive,  was 
not  to  be  supposed.  The  only  adequate  motive  to  be  as- 


134  THE    LIFE    OP 

signed  was,  a  desire  to  defer  this  acknowledgment,  to 
make  it  an  article  of  treaty,  and  thus  dependent  upon  all 
the  contingencies  of  such  a  treaty,  until,  as  the  Spanish 
minister  had  intimated,  the  conclusion  "of  a  general 
peace."  Spain  had  claims  to  which  the  United  States 
were  unwilling  to  accede ;  France  had  demands  upon 
Great  Britain,  to  the  attainment  of  which,  the  support  of 
Spam  was  important.  The  United  States  were  under  no 
engagements  to  continue  the  wrar  for  the  promotion  of  the 
views  of  Spain.  But  the  treaty  of  alliance  compelled  them 
not  to  cease  hostilities  until  their  independence  was  se- 
cured. The  British  ministry  held  their  places  on  the 
tenure  of  peace  with  America ;  but  if  that  had  been 
effected,  Vergennes  well  knew  that  the  temper  of  the  Bri- 
tish nation  would  have  sustained  a  war  with  France  or 
Spain  from  motives  of  policy  or  resentment.  Thus,  not 
only  the  question  whether  to  promote  the  designs  of  Spain 
as  to  the  American  territory,  or  to  obtain  advantages  from 
Great  Britain,  or  even  a  general  peace  might  depend  on 
deferring  the  recognition  by  England  of  the  United  States 
as  a  nation.  The  strong  repugnance  of  the  British 
monarch  to  an  express  acknowledgment  might  also  have 
induced  a  belief,  if  that  should  be  relinquished  by  her  instru- 
mentality, that  France  might  gain  an  equivalent  for  this 
service.  Acting  upon  a  full  view  of  his  position,  Jay  ap- 
prised Oswald  of  his  objections  to  his  commission  ;  who,  to 
remove  them,  disclosed  to  him  the  instructions  to  Sir  Guy 
Carleton  to  admit  independence  in  the  first  instance.  Jay 
avowed  that  he  would  have  no  concern  in  any  negotia- 
tion "  that  did  not  consider  his  countrymen  as  independent 
people,"  and  drafted  a  commission  to  be  issued  by  Great 
Britain. 

A  second  discussion  arose  with  the  French  minister  on 
the  reception  of  Oswald's  powers ;  Vergennes  remained 
of  his  former  opinion,  and  asserted  that  an  acknowledg- 


HAMILTON.  135 

ment  previous  to  a  treaty  was  unnecessary,  denied  that 
it  was  sufficient  for  the  United  States  to  be  treated  with 
on  the  ground  of  equality  as  other  nations  were,  but 
insisted  that  an  explicit  acknowledgment  of  independence 
in  the  treaty  was  "very  necessary,"  to  prevent  future 
claims.  The  reply  of  the  British  ministry  to  Oswald  pro- 
ceeded on  the  idea  of  an  acknowledgment  as  an  article 
of  treaty.*  This  course  was  admitted  by  him  to  have 
been  adopted  in  consequence  of  the  intimation  of  Ver- 
gennes  that  it  would  be  sufficient. 

A  strong  expression  of  the  determination  not  to  permit 
the  question  of  independence  to  be  the  subject  of  a  treaty, 
and  thus  implying  that  America  was  not  then  independent, 
was  embodied  in  a  letter  from  Jay  to  Oswald,  which  was 
submitted  to  Franklin,  who  disapproved  it,  lest  it  might 
possibly  be  productive  of  future  embarrassment,  and  as 
involving  a  departure  from  their  instructions.  After  weigh- 
ing this  objection,  Franklin  having  declined  to  sign  this 
letter,  Jay  gave  it  to  Oswald.  Vergennes  had,  meanwhile, 
proposed  that  Oswald  should  by  letter  declare  that  he 
treated  with  the  United  States  as  independent ;  an  ex- 
pedient which  was,  of  course,  rejected.  The  fixed  pur- 
pose of  France  was  manifested  upon  another  occasion. 
In  consequence  of  an  intimation  to  that  effect  by  the  court 
of  Spain,  a  conference  was  held  with  their  envoy  at  Paris. 
In  this  conference,  the  claims  of  Spain  having  been  set 
forth,  Jay,  without  entering  into  the  discussion,  presented 
a  copy  of  his  commission,  and  asked  if  the  Spanish  envoy's 
powers  were  equally  extensive. 

He  affirmed  that  they  were,  but  did  not  produce  them. 
Vergennes,  who  was  present,  remained  silent ;  but  Ray- 
neval,  the  secretary  of  the  council,  urged  that  this  prelimi- 
nary should  be  dispensed  with.f 

*  8  D.  C.  143.— Jay's  Life,  v.  1,  p.  144.  t  8  D.  C.  201. 


136  THE    LIFE    OF 

Having  ascertained  that  through  the  interference  of 
France,  the  unsatisfactory  powers  to  Oswald  were  framed, 
and  that  Rayneval  had  proceeded  secretly  to  London, 
there  was  enough  to  awaken  the  suspicions  of  any  pru- 
dent minister.  These  suspicions  were  confirmed  by  the 
disclosure  to  Jay  of  the  contents  of  the  recent  despatch 
of  Marbois,  and  on  the  following  day  he  sent  a  secret 
agent  to  England,  to  represent  the  absolute  necessity  of  a 
preliminary  acknowledgment  of  independence,  of  a  mu- 
tual participation  in  the  fisheries  and  in  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  being  conceded,  and  that  it  was  the  policy  of 
France  to  postpone  this  recognition.  This  communication 
had  the  intended  effect.  A  commission*  to  Oswald,  "  to 
negotiate  with  commissioners  vested  with  equal  powers  by 
and  on  the  part  of  the  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,"  was 
received  in  Paris  late  in  September. 

The  points  now  to  be  adjusted  were  the  boundaries,  the 
fisheries,  and  the  claims  of  the  loyalists. 

The  progress  of  the  negotiation  confirmed  the  suspicions 
entertained  by  Jay  as  to  the  policy  both  of  France  and 
Spain,  with  respect  to  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United 
States.  The  importance  of  obtaining  the  alliance  and  aid 
of  the  Spanish  ministry  was  such  as  to  have  led  him  to 
think,  previous  to  his  mission,  that  a  cession  might  wisely 
have  been  made  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  as  an 
inducement  to  such  an  alliance.  But  when  Spain  had,  in 
order  to  promote  her  own  views,  entered  into  the  war, 
when  she  refused  to  recognise  the  United  States  as  a  na- 
tion, and  failed  in  her  engagements  as  to  aid,  every  induce- 
ment to  such  a  concession  ceased  ;  and  he  dissuaded  con- 
gress from  granting  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  render 
a  war  with  Spain  unavoidable,  and  "  that  he  should  look  on 
his  subscribing  to  the  one,  as  fixing  the  other" 

*  Sept.  21,  1782. 


HAMILTON.  137 

In  the  project  of  a  treaty,  in  obedience  to  his  instruc- 
tions, which  he  was  aware  were  known  to  Spain,  he  of- 
fered this  cession,  but  upon  his  own  responsibility  annexed 
a  declaration,  "that  if  its  acceptance,  together  with  the  pro- 
posed alliance,  should  be  postponed  to  a  general  peace,  the 
United  States  would  not  be  bound  by  this  offer."  Cir- 
cumstances occurred  subsequently  to  this,  which  had  a 
strong  influence  on  the  action  of  congress.  On  the  cap- 
ture of  Pensacola,  Spain,  instead  of  providing  in  the  capitu- 
lation that  the  British  troops  should  not  serve  against  the 
United  States,  permitted  them  to  reinforce  their  garrison 
at  New- York.  Similar  terms  were  granted  in  the  surren- 
der of  the  Bahama  islands. 

These  occurrences  excited  strong  indignation  in  America, 
which  was  increased  by  the  unjustifiable  interruption  of 
the  Havana  trade,*  in  consequence  of  which,  American 
vessels  were  detained  a  long  time  in  the  service  of  Spain,  no 
compensation  for  the  delay  made,  and  then  sent  away 
without  convoy,  and  many  of  them  captured.  But  the 
event  which  made  most  impression  was  an  expedition  of  a 
party  of  Spaniards  and  Indians  from  St.  Louis,  who  seized 
a  small  post  on  the  St.  Joseph,  occupied  by  a  few  English 
soldiers,  took  possession  of  it  with  its  dependencies,  and 
also  of  the  river  Illinois,  in  the  name  of  his  catholic  ma- 
jesty, and  displayed  the  standard  of  Spain  as  a  formal 
assertion  of  her  title.  This  act  was  decisive  of  the  pur- 
poses of  that  government. 

A  committee  was  appointed  by  congress  to  revise  the 
instructions  to  Jay,  (prepared  by  Madison,)  not  to  insist 
upon  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  Their  report 
would  have  exposed  the  United  States  to  the  risk,  if  Spain 
chose  to  claim  it  on  the  ground  of  the  secret  article  with 
France,  of  being  compelled  to  conclude  a  treaty  "  on  her 

*  8D.C.  211. 
18 


138  THE    LIFE   OF 

first  requisition."  It  was  amended  on  the  next  day*  at  the 
instance  of  Rutledge,  so  as  to  direct  him  "  to  forbear  making 
any  overtures  or  entering  into  any  stipulations  in  conse- 
quence of  overtures  previously  made  by  him  ;  and  he  was 
authorized  to  leave  Spain,  and  go  into  any  other  part 
of  Europe,  whenever  the  state  of  his  health  might  re- 
quire it." 

If  the  American  commissioner  had  any  doubts  remain- 
ing as  to  the  policy  of  Spain,  they  were  removed  by  the 
disclosure  of  the  contents  of  an  intercepted  despatch  from 
the  French  ambassador  at  Madrid  to  Vergennes.  .  This 
document  represented  the  strong  aversion  of  the  catholic 
court  to  any  American  settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  as 
they  would  engross  the  trade  of  New  Orleans  and  Mexico  ; 
that  Spain  was  determined  to  make  the  Indians  a  barrier 
between  their  possessions ;  "  that  she  would  find  the 
means,  if  necessary,  to  obstruct  their  progress ;  and  that 
France  could  not  afford"  Spain  a  greater  proof  of  "  her" 
attachment,  than  in  employing  "  her"  influence  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  divert  their  views  from  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi. f 

In  the  conference  which  has  been  mentioned  between, 
D'Aranda  and  Jay  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  June,  the  former 
expatiated  on  the  rights  of  Spain  to  a  large  tract  of  coun- 
try east  of  the  Mississippi,  as  conquests  from  England,  re- 
ferring to  the  post  recently  taken  on  the  St.  Joseph,  and 
remarked  as  to  such  part  of  that  region  as  she  had  not  con- 
quered, that  it  was  the  territory  of  free  and  independent 
nations  of  Indians,  whose  lands  could  not  be  claimed  by 
the  United  States.J  She  then  proposed  a  longitudinal 
line  as  an  arbitrary  boundary,  which  would  have  dissev- 
ered from  the  United  States  a  large  portion  of  her  west- 
ern territory.  "  The  extravagance  of  this  line"  was  indi- 

*Aug.  1, 1782.  t  Life  of  Jay,  vol.  1,  p.  139.  t  8  D.  C.  150. 


H  A  31 1  L  TON.  139 

catcd  by  Franklin  and  Jay  to  Vergennes,  but  he,  as  before, 
was  reserved.  The  secretary  Rayneval  took  up  the  discus- 
sion, urged  Jay  again  to  treat  without  any  exchange  of 
powers  with  D'Aranda,  and  subsequently  submitted  to 
him  a  memoir  which  defended  at  length  the  claims  of 
Spain,  and  proposed  to  the  United  States  the  admission 
of  another  arbitrary  limit. 

This  proposition  implied  that  Great  Britain  was  entitled 
to  all  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  left  in  question 
the  rights  of  the  United  States  to  the  extensive  western 
region  above  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude.  These  sug- 
gestions were  considered  as  part  of  that  policy  which  had 
instructed*  De  Grasse  "  to  withdraw  his  fleet  when  the 
enemy  were  at  our  feet,  and  a  month's  delay  would  have 
reduced  either  New- York  or  Charleston ;"  and  which 
would  have  postponed  the  recognition  of  independence  to 
the  conclusion  of  a  general  peace. 

The  desire  of  France  to  confine  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  was  again  evinced  about  the  time  of  the  return  of 
Oswald's  full  commission.  Upon  an  intimation  by  D'Aran- 
da of  a  wish  to  commence  the  negotiation,  Jay  expressed 
his  readiness  when  their  powers  should  be  exchanged. 
D'Aranda  inquired  whether  Jay  had  not  been  apprised 
of  his  having  been  authorized  by  the  prime  minister  of 
Spain.  He  admitted  it,  but  required  the  exchange  of  their 
commissions.  This  was  objected  to  on  the  ground  that 
Spain  had  not  acknowledged  our  independence.  Ver- 
gennes urged  a  treaty  with  Spain  in  the  same  manner  as 
with  France — that  Spain  did  not  deny  the  independence — 
and  proposed  that  a  conference  should  be  held  without 
saying  a  word  about  it,  stating  that  an  acknowledgment 
of  it  would  be  the  natural  effect  of  the  proposed  treaty. 
Jay  replied,  that,  being  independent,  "  both  the  terms  of  his 

*  3  B.C.  355. 


140  THE    LIFE    OF 

commission  and  the  dignity  of  America  forbade  his  treat- 
ing on  any  other  than  an  equal  footing." 

On  the  same  occasion,  Rayneval  urged  the  adoption  of 
the  conciliatory  line  he  had  proposed,  and  the  advantage 
of  placing  the  Indians  on  each  side  of  it  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  respective  sovereigns.  Jay  answered,  that  as 
far  as  these  demands  affected  the  Indians,  it  was  a  question 
between  them  and  the  United  States,  and  remarked  upon 
the  recency  of  these  territorial  claims.  Rayneval  in  reply 
observed,  "  that  the  Spanish  prime  minister  had  not  un- 
derstood the  subject,  and  imputed  his  former  ideas  of  the 
United  States  extending  to  the  Mississippi  to  his  ignorance 
of  that  matter."  A  reply  that  left  it  not  difficult  to  con- 
jecture by  whom  these  recent  claims  had  been  suggested. 

That  Spain  should  have  sought  these  advantages,  might 
have  been  anticipated  from  the  policy  of  that  nation. 
How  France  could  have  sustained  the  proposed  mutilation 
according  to  an  arbitrary  line,  involving  a  principle  by 
which  it  might  have  been  extended  much  further  east,  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive,  when  the  grounds  of  the  American 
pretensions  are  understood.  By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  all  the 
region  claimed  by  the  United  States  had  been  ceded  to  the 
sovereign  of  Great  Britain.  This,  by  charter,  she  had 
granted,  and  defined  as  extending  to  the  Mississippi.  Thus 
it  was  held  previous  to  the  revolution,  and  thus  under  the 
same  limits  it  (by  the  revolution)  devolved  upon  those  who 
had  acquired  the  sovereignty  of  this  country. 

France  had  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  Uni- 
ted States ;  she  had  by  treaty  admitted  their  territorial 
claims  ;  she  had  by  treaty  guarantied  all  the  possessions 
which  then  belonged  to  them,  to  take  effect  at  the  instant 
of  a  war  between  France  and  Great  Britain ;  which  war, 
preceding  that  between  Spain  and  England,  precluded  all 
pretensions  on  the  part  of  Spain  by  right  of  conquest. 
Immediatelv  after  the  commission  was  received  bv  Os- 


HAMILTON.  141 

wald,  the  commissioners  entered  upon  the  negotiation, 
with  an  express  agreement  on  each  part,  that  it  should  not 
be  disclosed  to  France.  It  commenced  on  the  first  of 
October,  and  on  the  eighth  of  that  month,  articles,  of 
•which  the  draft  was  prepared  by  Jay,  were  mutually 
signed. 

After  an  express  preliminary  acknowledgment  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States,  their  boundaries  were 
defined  as  prescribed  in  the  original  ultimatum  of  seven- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-nine.  The  right  of  fishing  and 
of  curing  fish  at  the  accustomed  places,  as  urged  by  Gou- 
verneur  Morris,  the  author  of  this  ultimatum,  but  then 
rejected  by  congress,  was  granted.  The  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  was  declared  to  be  forever  free  and  open  to 
both  nations,  and  the  citizens  and  subjects  and  ships  of 
each  nation  were  to  enjoy  the  same  protection  and  privi- 
leges in  each  other's  ports  and  countries,  respecting  com- 
merce, duties,  and  charges,  as  were  enjoyed  by  native 
subjects,  saving  to  the  chartered  trading  companies  of 
Great  Britain  their  exclusive  rights. 

The  decision  of  the  British  cabinet  upon  these  articles 
was  not  received  until  the  twenty-third  of  October,  when* 
it  was  stated  that  objections  arose  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
boundaries  and  the  absence  of  any  provision  for  the  tones, 
to  confer  upon  which,  a  person  was  deputed  from  Lon- 
don. 

Three  days  after,  on  the  twenty-sixth*  of  October, 
Adams  arrived  at  Paris,  and  co-operated  in  support  of  the 
terms  which  Jay  had  been  the  principal  instrument  in  ob- 
taining. It  has  been  studiously  laboured  to  give  to  Adams 
the  chief  merit  in  this  transaction  ;  but  it  is  only  necessa- 
ry to  advert  to  the  state  of  the  negotiation  when  he  arrived 
at  Paris,  to  decide  to  whom  it  belongs. 

*  Adams  to  Livingston,  6  D.  C.  436. 


J42  THE    LIFE    OF 

On  resuming  the  negotiation,  an  effort  was  made  to  con- 
tract the  limits  of  Jhe  United  States,  to  bring  the  bounda- 
ry to  the  Ohio,  and  to  settle  the  loyalists  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Illinois. 

The  court  of  St.  James  insisted  upon  retaining  all  the 
territories  comprehended  within  the  province  of  Quebec, 
by  the  acts  of  parliament  respecting  it.  They  contended 
that  Nova  Scotia  should  extend  to  the  Kennebec,  and 
claimed  all  the  lands  in  the  western  country  and  on  the 
Mississippi  net  expressly  included  in  our  charters  and  go- 
vernments, and  also  all  not  previously  granted  by  the 
crown.  But  the  limits  originally  proposed  were  adhered 
to,  and,  with  some  concessions  to  the  east  and  north,  were 
acknowledged. 

The  points  chiefly  contested  were  the  restitution,  com- 
pensation, and  amnesty  to  the  adherents  of  Great  Britain, 
and  a  limitation  of  the  fisheries. 

The  former  of  these  was  most  urged.  It  will  be  re- 
corded to  the  honour  of  England,  that  it  was  the  first  in- 
sisted upon  and  the  last  relinquished,  and  relinquished  not 
of  choice,  but  because  the  British  government  were  satis- 
*fied  that  congress  did  not  possess  the  power  to  make  or  to 
fulfil  the  necessary  stipulations.  A  substitute  was  inserted 
recommending  the  restitution  of  the  confiscated  estates. 
No  further  confiscations  nor  prosecutions  were  to  be  per- 
mitted, and  all  existing  prosecutions  were  to  be  discon- 
tinued. An  express  stipulation  was  also  made,  that  no 
legal  impediment  should  be  interposed  to  the  full  recovery, 
in  sterling  money,  by  the  creditors  of  either  side,  of  all 
bona  fide  debts  previously  contracted.  All  prisoners 
were  to  be  discharged ;  the  American  possessions  were  to 
be  evacuated  without  the  destruction  or  deportation  of 
negroes  or  other  American  property ;  and  conquests  sub- 
sequent to  the  execution  of  these  articles  were  to  be  ic- 
stored  without  compensation.  A  separate  and  secret 


,  HAMILTON.  143 

article  was  added,  defining  the  boundary  between  West 
Florida  and  the  United  States,  in  case  Great  Britain  should 
recover,  or  be  put  in  possession  of  it  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  war.  The  questions  as  to  the  fisheries  were  much  de- 
bated, and  were  satisfactorily  adjusted,  after  a  demand  of 
compensation  for  injuries  being  proposed  by  Franklin  and 
abandoned. 

The  policy  of  France  with  respect  to  these  particulars, 
also  produced  in  the  minds  of  the  commissioners  much 
dissatisfaction.  The  details  of  the  discussion  as  to  the 
fisheries  are  not  preserved  with  sufficient  minuteness  to  en- 
able a  very  accurate  judgment  to  be  formed  of  the  several 
propositions  made.  Acting  upon  the  instructions  of  the 
fifteenth  of  June,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one, 
Franklin  made  no  mention  of  this  great  interest  until  some 
time  after  the  arrival  of  Jay. 

His  demand  of  this  right,  which  congress  declared  was 
"  no  less  indispensable  in  its  exercise"  than  "  indisputable 
in  its  principles,"*  was  made  to  the  British  negotiator  early 
in  July.  It  appears  that  this  important  claim,  then  made 
the  first  time,  created  not  a  little  surprise  in  the  breast  of 
the  British  commissioner. 

It  had  been  declared  by  Lord  Chatham  that  the  "  exclu- 
sive right"  to  the  fisheries  "  was  an  object  worthy  of  being 
contested  by  the  extremities  of  war."  The  reluctance  of 
England  to  the  participation  of  the  Americans  in  a  pur- 
suit which,  as  a  nursery  of  seamen,  would  enable  them  to 
contest  the  supremacy  of  the  ocean,  may  be  supposed  to 
have  created  obstacles  on  the  part  of  that  maritime  power. 

Former  events  had  shown  to  France  the  importance  the 
English  crown  attached  to  it ;  and  hence,  had  a  disposition 
existed  to  interpose  an  obstacle  to  a  treaty,  none  other 
would  have  been  more  readily  seized  upon.  What  shape 

*  3  s.  J.  158. 


144  THE    LIFE    OF 

this  question  assumed  in  the  progressive  negotiations  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  France,  is  not  known ;  whether 
that  of  an  equal  division  of  the  fisheries,  with  a  total  ex- 
clusion of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  or  a  limitation 
of  them  merely  to  the  coast  fishery  ;  but  the  evidence  is 
complete,  that  France,  if  she  did  not  oppose,  at'least  looked 
coldly  on  the  claims  of  the  United  States. 

In  a  conversation  held  between  Jay  and  Rayneval,  (after 
Great  Britain  had  resolved  to  grant  them,)  to  an  inquiry  by 
the  latter, "  what  we  demanded  as  to  the  fisheries,"  on  being 
informed  "  that  we  insisted  on  enjoying  a  right  in  common 
to  them  with  Great  Britain,  he  intimated  that  our  views 
should  not  extend  further  than  a  coast  fishery,  and  insinua- 
ted that  pains  had  lately  been  taken  in  the  eastern  states  to 
excite  their  apprehensions  and  increase  their  demands  on 
that  head.  "We  told  him  that  such  a  right  was  essential 
to  us,  and  that  our  people  would  not  be  content  to  make 
peace  without  it ;  and  Franklin  explained  very  fully  their 
great  importance  to  the  eastern  states  in  particular.  He 
softened  his  manner — observed  that  it  was  natural  for 
France  to  wish  better  to  us  than  to  England ;  but  as  the 
fisheries  were  a  great  nursery  for  seamen,  we  might  sup- 
pose that  England  would  be  disinclined  to  admit  others  to 
share  in  it,  and  that  for  his  part  he  wished  there  might  be 
as  few  obstacles  to  a  peace  as  possible.  He  reminded  us 
also,  that  Oswald's  new  commission  had  been  issued  poste- 
rior to  his  arrival  at  London." 

The  only  remaining  question  that  excites  attention  upon 
which  the  course  of  France  is  to  be  investigated,  is  as  to 
the  proposed  stipulations  with  respect  to  the  loyalists.  In 
the  despatch  from  Adams,*  the  representations  made  by 
the  French  envoy  to  congress,  and  the  opinion  of  Yer- 
gennes  in  favour  of  clemency  and  restitution,  are  imputed 

*  6  D.  C.  443-445. 


HAMILTON.  145 

to  a  knowledge  that  the  American  commissioners  were  in- 
structed not  to  make  any  express  engagements  in  their 
behalf,  and  that  congress  had  not  a  constitutional  authority 
to  make  them ;  and  it  is  suggested  that  the  pertinacity  of 
England  in  protecting  her  adherents,  was  "  stimulated  by 
French  emissaries."  Congress  had  indeed  declared  that  it 
was  their  "particular  wish"  that  the  return  "of  these  fu- 
gitives and  exiles  from  their  country"  should  "be  most 
strenuously  opposed,"*  and  that  any  stipulations  for  their 
return  were  dishonourable  to  the  government  of  the  states 
and  obnoxious  to  the  people  at  large.  But  that  France 
should  have  interposed  her  influence  in  their  behalf,  against 
a  policy  so  impolitic  and  harsh,  may  be  ascribed  to  other 
motives — to  the  feelings  of  a  nation  which  regarded  loyal- 
ty as  a  virtue — which  supposed  that  clemency  was  the 
proper  attribute  of  a  crown,  and  would  not,  at  least  on  the 
part  of  her  ally,  be  a  theme  of  reproach. 

Vergennes,  upon  an  annunciation  being  made  to 
him  of  the  signature  of  the  treaty,  addressed  a  sharp  re- 
buke to  Franklin  for  having  concluded  the  preliminary 
articles  without  any  communication  to  him,  "  although  the 
instructions  from  congress  prescribe  that  nothing  should 
be  done  without  the  participation  of  the  king."  Franklin 
mildly  answered,  that  nothing  had  been  agreed  in  the 
preliminaries  contrary  to  the  interest  of  France,  "  and  that 
no  peace  was  to  take  place  between  us  and  England  till 
France  concluded  hers."  He  disclaimed  any  intentional 
disrespect  to  the  king,  and  asked  to  be  excused  "this  single 
indiscretion."f 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  American  government,  af- 
ter stating  that  Vergennes  had  been  satisfied  on  this  point, 
he  observed,  in  reference  to  a  possible  censure  by  con- 
gress, "  that  their  nomination  of  five  persons  to  this  ser- 

*  3  S.  J.  159.     Report  of  Lovcll,  Carroll,  and  Madison,     t  4  D.  C.  57. 

19 


146  THELIFEOF 

vice,  seems  to  mark  that  they  had  some  dependence  on 
our  joint  judgments,  since  one  alone  could  have  made  a 
treaty  by  direction  of  the  French  ministry  as  well  as 
twenty."  He  imputes  the  conduct  of  France  to  an  appre- 
hension that  if  America  should  have  claimed  too  much,  the 
opportunity  of  peace  might  have  been  lost ;  comments  on 
the  sr  ^icions  entertained  by  Adams  that  Vergennes  and 
he  were  continually  plotting  against  him,  and  employing 
\ae  ministers  of  Europe  to  depreciate  his  character ;"  but 
at  the  same  time  makes  the  declaration,  "  I  am  persuaded, 
however,  that  he  means  well  for  his  country,  is,  always  an 
honest  man,  often  a  wise  one,  but  sometimes  and  in  some 
things  absolutely  out  of  his  senses."* 

The  result  of  these  negotiations  was  received  by  the 
people  of  America  with  a  burst  of  approbation.  Not  only 
had  the  United  States  obtained  all,  but  more  than  they 
could  have  expected  ;  every  essential  right  had  been  se- 
cured— no  sacrifice  had  been  made  of  the  national  honour. 
But  a  different  feeling  existed  with  a  party  in  congress ; 
that  which  the  nation  approved,  they  deemed  deserving 
of  censure. 

The  American  commissioners,  on  the  annunciation  to 
congress  of  the  conclusion  of  the  preliminary  treaty,  ex- 
plained the  motives  which  had  induced  them  to  approve 
of  its  leading  articles.  As  to  the  boundaries,  they  stated 
the  extent  of  the  British  claims — the  hostility  of  France 
and  Spain  to  the  American  interests — and  the  advanta- 
geous limits  which  had  been  established. 

The  provision  for  the  British  creditors  was  defended  on 
the  obvious  principles  of  justice.  The  articles  as  to  the 
refugees  were  represented  as  having  been  assented  to  by 
Great  Britain  because  it  was  particularly  important  to  its 
administration  then  to  conclude  the  negotiation.  The 

*  4  D.  C.  139. 


HAMILTON.  147 

concealment  of  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  from  France 
was  justified  on  the  ground  that  they  "  did  not  correspond 
with  the  policy  of  France."  The  stipulation  to  act  "in 
confidence  and  in  concurrence  with  her,"  was  founded  on 
a  mutual  understanding  that  she  would  assist  the  United 
States  in  obtaining  their  "  indubitable  rights ;"  and  having 
opposed  them,  they  insisted  she  was  no  longer  entitled  to 
that  confidence,  and  that  the  injunction  "  to  do  nothing 
without  the  advice  and  consent  of  that  court,"  could  not 
have  intended  a  consultation  to  procure  an  injury. 

The  separate  article,  they  observed,  was  added  from  co- 
gent motives.  Deeming  it  important  to  extend  the  limits 
of  the  United  States  to  the  lowest  possible  point  on  the 
Mississippi,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  impress  Britain 
with  a  strong  sense  of  the  value  of  this  navigation  to  her 
future  commerce  on  the  interior  waters  from  the  Saint 
Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thus  to  render  her 
averse  to  the  claims  of  Spain.  These  objects  militated 
against  each  other,  because  to  enhance  the  value  of  the 
navigation,  was  also  to  enhance  the  value  of  the  contiguous 
territory,  and  disincline  England  to  a  dereliction  of  it. 
This  was  effected  by  a  composition :  Great  Britain  with- 
drew her  pretensions  above  the  Yazoo,  and  the  United 
States  ceded  all  below  it,  in  case  that  power  should  repos- 
sess Florida ;  both  parties  retaining  the  common  use  of 
the  Mississippi.  This  composition  was  inserted  in  a  sepa- 
rate article,  expressly  in  order  to  keep  it  secret,  lest  Spain 
should  have  been  irritated  and  have  retarded  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  negotiation.  France  had  no  interest  in  this 
matter — she  was  not  entitled  to  be  informed  of  it. 

Jefferson  had  been  appointed  early  in  the  session  a 
member  of  this  commission,  and  was  at  this  time  engaged 
in  the  department  of  state  preparing  for  its  duties.  The 
advices  removing  the  motives  to  his  departure,  his  appoint- 
ment was  revoked. 


148  THE    LIFE    OF 

Under  date  of  the  sixth  of  November,  the  secretary 
of  foreign  affairs  had  written  "that  the  clauses  of  the 
commission  to  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  which  were  designed  to 
include  the  United  States,  were  strong  indications  of  the 
extreme  reluctance  of  the  British  to  give  up  their  supposed 
dominion  over  this  country."  In  another  letter,  under  the 
supposition  that  England  would  withhold  the  fisheries,  he 
observed,  "  they  are  essential  to  some  states,  and  we  can- 
not but  Jiate  the  nation  that  keeps  us  from  using  this  com- 
mon favour  of  Providence." 

Notwithstanding  the  evidence  these  despatches  gave 
that  the  clauses  in  the  commission  which  he  had  repro- 
bated were  inserted  with  the  approbation  of  Vergennes, 
and  although  England  had  yielded  the  fisheries  in  despite 
of  the  efforts  of  France  to  keep  us  from  "  using  this  com- 
mon favour  of  Providence,"  a  criminatory  letter  was  ad- 
dressed by  him  to  congress,  asking  their  directions  as  to 
the  reply  to  be  given  to  these  communications. 

In  this  letter,  after  a  sharp  condemnation  of  their  con- 
duct, he  proposed  three  resolutions  to  be  passed :  one 
directing  him  to  communicate  the  secret  article  to  the  am- 
bassador of  France,  in  such  manner  as  will  best  remove 
any  unfavourable  impression  of  the  sincerity  of  these 
states  or  their  minister ;  another,  informing  the  Ameri- 
can commissioners  of  this  act,  and  of  the  reasons  which 
influenced  congress,  and  instructing  them  to  agree  that  in 
whatever  hands  West  Florida  might  remain  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  war,  the  United  States  will  be  satisfied  with 
the  limits  in  the  separate  article  ;  and  a  third,  declaring  the 
"  sense"  of  congress  that  the  provisional  articles  "  are  not 
to  take  place  until  a  peace  shall  have  been  actually  signed" 
between  France  and  Britain. 

The  preamble  to  these  articles  declared,  "  that  the  treaty 
of  peace  which  they  were  to  constitute,  was  not  to  be 
concluded  until  terms  of  a  peace  shall  be  agreed  upon  be- 


HAMILTON.  149 

tween  Great  Britain  and  France.  His  Britannic  majesty 
shall  be  ready  to  conclude  such  treaty  accordingly."  This 
preamble,  he  declared,  was  so  expressed,  as  to  render  it 
"  very  doubtful  whether  our  treaty  does  not  take  place  the 
moment  France  and  England  have  agreed  on  the  tei*ms 
of  their  treaty,  though  France  should  refuse  to  sign  till  her 
allies  were  satisfied." 

Had  the  proposed  resolution  passed,  its  effect  would 
have  been  to  keep  the  question  of  peace  or  war  open  until 
France  should  have  satisfied  her  allies ; — to  have  made  the 
termination  of  this  controversy  depend  on  the  disposition 
of  Spain  to  relinquish  her  extravagant  pretensions  to  the 
western  territory  of  the  United  States. 

When  the  character  of  this  treaty  is  considered,  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  a  communication  of  such  a  complexion 
would  have  been  prepared  on  the'  sole  responsibility  and 
suggestion  of  its  author,  and  without  confidence  in  the 
strength  of  the  party  in  congress  devoted  to  France.  On 
its  being  read,  a  vote  of  CENSURE  was  proposed  as  to  a 
negotiation  which  must  forever  command  the  gratitude  of 
the  American  people,  and  in  which  Jay  took  "  a  lead  no 
less  honourable  to  his  talents  than  to  his  firmness." 

This  vote  of  censure  was  sustained  by  Madison  ;*  but 

*  Judge  Peters,  who  was  a  member  of  this  congress,  and  who  offered  an 
approving  resolution,  wrote  to  Jay  : — 

"  I  voted  against  an  unwarrantable  philippic  of  censure,  brought  forward 
in  congress  against  your  conduct  to  please  the  French.  I  thought  then, 
and  do  now,  that  it  was  a  mean  compliance.  Our  friend  Madison,  who  was 
generally  then  with  us,  left  his  friends  on  that  subject,  and  I  never  liked  him 
the  letter  for  it."  Jay  replied  :  "  After  my  return  in  1784,  I  was  informed 
of  the  debate  in  congress  on  the  proposed  resolution  which  you  mention.  In 
my  opinion  Madison  voted  consistently." — 2  Jay's  Life,  401, 404. 

Referring  to  a  resolution  of  Virginia,  Madison  wrote  Randolph,  January 
7, 1783 : — "  The  preliminary  requisition  of  an  acknowledgment  of  our  inde- 
pendence, in  the  most  ample  manner,  seems  to  be  still  more  incautious,  since 
it  disaccords  with  the  treaty  of  alliance  which  admits  the  sufficiency  of  a 


150  THE    LIFE    OP 

there  were  those  in  that  senate  who  would  have  incurred 
any  sacrifice,  rather  than  a  sacrifice  of  the  dignity  of  their 
country  to  avert  the  displeasure  of  any  foreign  power. 

It  was  resisted,  and  resisted  firmly,  perseveringly,  and 
successfully. 

Different  substitutes  were  offered.  That  of  Hamilton 
declared,  that  "  as  congress  are  desirous  of  manifesting  at 
all  times  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  their  ally,  the 
secret  article  should  be  communicated  to  the  minister  of 
France  by  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  ;  and  that  he  in- 
form the  commissioners  of  the  reasons  for  that  communi- 
cation, expressing  to  them  the  desire  of  congress  that  they 
will,  upon  all  occasions,  maintain  perfect  harmony  and 
confidence  with  an  ally  to  whose  generous  assistance  the 
United  States  are  so  signally  indebted ;  that  congress  en- 
tertain a  high  sense  of  the  services  of  these  commissioners, 
for  their  steady  attention  to  the  dignity  and  essential  rights 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  obtaining  from  the  court  of 
Great  Britain  articles  so  favourable  and  so  important  to 
those  interests."* 

These  substitutes  were  referred,  and  on  the  nineteenth 
of  March,  a  report  was  made,  the  draft  of  which  still  ex- 
ists with  encomiastic  interlineations  in  Hamilton's  hand. 
During  the  debate  on  this  report,  intelligence  of  the  sig- 

tacit  acknowledgment."  Also,  March  18,  1783 — "The  latest  letters  from 
our  ministers  express  the  greatest  jealousy  of  Great  Britain ;  and  secondly, 
that  the  situation  of  France  between  the  interfering  claims  of  Spain  and  the 
United  States,  to  which  may  perhaps  be  added  some  particular  views  of  her 
own,  having  carried  her  into  a  discountenance  of  our  claims,  the  suspicions 
of  our  ministers  on  that  side  gave  an  opportunity  to  British  address  to  decoy 
them  into  a  degree  of  confidence,  which  seems  to  leave  their  own  reputa- 
tions, as  well  as  the  safety  of  their  country,  at  the  mercy  of  Shelburne.  In 
this  business  Jay  has  taken  the  lead,  and  proceeded  to  a  length  of  which  you 
can  form  little  idea.  Adams  has  followed  with  cordiality ;  Franklin  has 
been  dragged  into  it." 

*  Vol.2,  No.  25,  state  department. 


HAMILTON.  151 

nature  of  the  preliminary  articles  was  received,  and  on 
the  fifteenth  of  April  the  instrument  of  ratification  prepar- 
ed by  Hamilton  was  agreed  to. 

He  wrote  to  Jay : — "  Though  I  have  not  performed  my 
promise  of  writing  to  you,  which  I  made  you  when 
you  left  this  country,  yet  I  have  not  the  less  inter- 
ested myself  in  your  welfare  and  success.  I  have  been 
witness  with  pleasure  to  every  event  which  has  had  a  ten- 
dency to  advance  you  in  the  esteem  of  your  country  ;  and 
I  may  assure  you  with  sincerity,  that  it  is  as  high  as  you 
can  possibly  wish. 

"  The  peace,  which  exceeds  in  the  goodness  of  its  terms 
the  expectations  of  the  most  sanguine,  does  the  highest 
honour  to  those  who  made  it.  It  is  the  more  agreeable,  as 
the  time  was  come  when  thinking  men  began,  to  be  se- 
riously alarmed  at  the  internal  embarrassments  and  ex- 
hausted state  of  this  country.  The  New-England  people 
talk  of  making  you  an  annual  fish-offering,  as  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  your  exertions  for  the  participation  of  the 
fisheries. 

"  We  have  now  happily  concluded  the  great  work  of 
independence,  but  much  remains  to  be  done  to  reap  the 
fruits  of  it.  Our  prospects  are  not  flattering.  Every  day 
proves  the  inefficacy  of  the  present  confederation ;  yet  the 
common  danger  being  removed,  we  are  receding  instead 
of  advancing  in  a  disposition  to  amend  its  defects.  The 
road  to  popularity  in  each  state  is,  to  inspire  jealousies  of 
the  power  of  congress  ;  though  nothing  can  be  more  appa- 
rent than  that  they  have  no  power,  and  that  for  the  want 
of  it  the  resources  of  the  country  during  the  war  could  not 
be  drawn  out,  and  we  at  this  moment  experience  all  the 
mischief  of  a  bankrupt  and  ruined  credit.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  when  prejudice  and  folly  have  run  themselves 
out  of  breath,  we  may  return  to  reason  and  correct  our 
errors." 


152 

The  preceding  narrative  develops  a  policy  which  evi- 
dently sought  to  curtail  the  limits  and  to  check  the  growth 
of  this  infant  empire.  A  confirmation  of  its  purposes  is  to 
be  found  in  the  instructions  of  Montmorin,  the  successor 
of  Vergennes,  to  his  legate  in  the  United  States.  "  That 
it  is  not  advisable  for  France  to  give  to  America  all  the 
stability  of  which  she  is  susceptible  :  she  will  acquire  a 
degree  of  power  she  will  be  too  well  disposed  to  abuse." 
It  is  seen  in  the  continued  efforts  of  her  agents  to  support 
the  impotent  confederacy  of  the  states,  after  every  enlight- 
ened and  every  virtuous  patriot  had  condemned  it ;  and 
may  be  read  in  the  proclamation  to  the  world  by  their 
successors,  of  the  perfidious  conduct  of  the  old  government 
of  France  towards  their  too  confiding  ally. 

Such  a  policy,  it  would  seem,  could  only  have  been  sug- 
gested by  and  founded  upon  the  subservience  of  leading 
men  in  this  country,  who,  prompted  by  illicit  motives,  allied 
themselves  to  her  corrupt  and  crafty  councils. 

When  the  existence  and  consequences  of  such  a  con- 
nection are  considered,  Hamilton's  public  declaration  will 
not  excite  surprise  : — 

"  Upon  my  first  going  into  congress,  I  discovered  symp- 
toms of  a  party  too  well  disposed  to  subject  the  interests 
of  the  United  States  to  the  management  of  France. 
Though  I  felt,  in  common  with  those  who  had  participated 
in  the  revolution,  a  lively  sentiment  of  good- will  towards 
a  power  whose  co-operation,  however  it  was  and  ought  to 
have  been  dictated  by  its  own  interest,  had  been  extremely 
useful  to  us,  and  had  been  afforded  in  a  liberal  and  hand- 
some manner ;  yet,  tenacious  of  the  real  independence  of 
our  country,  and  dreading  the  preponderance  of  foreign 
influence  as  the  natural  disease  of  popular  government,  I 
was  struck  with  disgust  at  the  appearance,  in  the  very 
cradle  of  our  republic,  of  a  party  actuated  by  an  undue 
complaisance  to  a  foreign  power,  and  I  resolved  at  once  to 


HAMILTON.  153 

resist  this  bias  in  our  affairs :  a  resolution  which  has  been 
the  chief  cause  of  the  persecution  I  have  endured  in  the 
subsequent  stages  of  my  political  life. 

"  Among  the  fruits  of  the  bias  I  have  mentioned,  were  the 
celebrated  instructions  to  our  commissioners,  for  treating 
of  peace  with  Great  Britain ;  which,  not  only  as  to  final 
measures,  but  also  as  to  preliminary  and  intermediate  ne- 
gotiations, placed  them  in  a  state  of  dependence  on  the 
French  ministry,  humiliating  to  themselves  and  unsafe  for 
the  interests  of  the  country.  This  was  the  more  excep- 
tionable, as  there  was  cause  to  suspect,  that,  in  regard  to 
the  two  cardinal  points  of  the  fisheries  and  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  policy  of  the  cabinet  of  Versailles 
did  not  accord  with  the  wishes  of  the  United  States. 

"  The  commissioners,  of  whom  Mr.  Adams  was  one,  had 
the  fortitude  to  break  through  the  fetters  which  were  laid 
upon  them  by  those  instructions ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that,  by  doing  it,  they  both  accelerated  the  peace 
with  Great  Britain  and  improved  the  terms,  while  they 
preserved  our  faith  with  France.  Yet  a  serious  attempt 
was  made  to  obtain  from  congress  a  formal  censure  of 
their  conduct.  The  attempt  failed,  and  instead  of  cen- 
sure, the  praise  was  awarded  which  was  justly  due  to  the 
accomplishment  of  a  treaty  advantageous  to  this  country 
beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectation.  In  this  result,  my 
efforts  were  heartily  united." 

20 


154  THE    LIFE    OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

[1783.] 

THE  necessity  felt  by  the  friends  of  the  public  faith  of 
availing  themselves  of  the  army  discontents,  much  as  the 
exercise  of  such  an  influence  was  apprehended,  is  shown 
by  the  proceedings  of  Massachusetts,  at  that  time  the  rich- 
est state  in  the  confederation,  and  which  had  suffered  less 
than  any  other  from  the  war. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  half-pay  was  established 
in  seventeen  himdred  and  eighty,  by  a  congress  elected 
before  the  articles  of  the  confederation  had  gone  into  ope- 
ration, while  they  were  exercising  all  the  large  powers 
which,  in  the  early  exigencies  of  the  country,  had  been 
conferred  upon  them,  and  which  were  incidental  to  the 
purposes  of  their  election ;  no  question  could,  therefore, 
exist  as  to  their  right  to  make  this  pledge. 

The  articles  of  the  .confederation  were  adopted  on  the 
first  March,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one.  By  the 
twelfth  article,  all  the  engagements  of  the  previous  con- 
gresses were  sanctioned  as  a  charge  against  the  United 
States,  "  for  the  payment  whereof  the  public  faith  was  so- 
lemnly  pledged."  Yet,  with  a  knowledge  of  this  pledge, 
the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  under  the  influence  of  the 
individuals  who  had  been  principally  instrumental  in 
framing  those  articles,  though  they  admitted  the  discre- 
tionary power  of  congress  to  provide  for  the  support  of 
the  army,  declared  that  the  principles  of  equity  had  not 
been  attended  to  in  the  grant  of  half-pay :  "  that  being, 
in  their  opinion,  a  grant  of  more  than  an  adequate  reward 


HAMILTON.  1 55 

for  their  services,  and  inconsistent  with  that  equality 
which  ought  to  subsist  among  citizens  of  free  and  republi- 
can states ;  that  such  a  measure  appeared  to  be  calculated 
to  raise  and  exalt  some  citizens  in  wealth  and  grandeur,  to 
the  injury  and  oppression  of  others." 

Such  was  the  language  of  a  state,  in  reference  to  an 
explicit  public  engagement,  to  an  army  which  had  by  that 
engagement  alone  been  saved  from  dissolution.  This  re- 
monstrance of  Massachusetts  was  brought  before  congress 
at  a  later  period  than  that  now  under  consideration.  A 
committee  sustained  the  grant,  independent  of  all  consid- 
erations of  policy,  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  a  complete 
and  constitutional  act ;  yet  such  were  the  jealousies  of  this 
assembly,  that  on  the  discussion  of  their  report,  the  decla^ 
ration  of  the  constitutional  power  of  congress  to  make  it 
was  stricken  out ;  and  the  delegates  of  Massachusetts, 
though  some  of  them  were  in  favour  of  the  measure, 
yielded  so  far  to  the  influence  of  their  state,  as  to  decline 
voting  on  the  final  question.* 

Among  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  army  on  the  fif- 
teenth of  March,  one  expressed  their  "  unshaken  confi- 
dence in  the  justice  of  congress  and  their  country ;  and 
stated  that  they  were  fully  convinced  that  the  representa- 
tives of  America  would  not  disband  or  disperse  them,  un- 
til their  accounts  were  liquidated,  the  balances  accurately 
ascertained,  and  adequate  funds  established  for  their  pay- 
ment." 

The  terms  of  this  resolution  had  given  great  embarrass- 
ment. The  committee  of  which  Hamilton  was  chairman, 
requested  him  to  communicate  their  difficulties  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  to  ask  his  private  opinion,  which  he 


*  A  formal  protest  signed  by  Samuel  Adams  was  presented  to  congress, 
in  which  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  this  provision  for  the  army  is  assigned  as 
one  of  the  reasons  for  refusing  the  impost. 


156  THE    LIFE    OF 

thus  did : — "  The  army,  by  their  resolutions,  express  an 
expectation  that  congress  will  not  disband  them  previous 
to  a  settlement  of  accounts  and  the  establishment  of  funds. 
Congress  may  resolve  upon  the  first,  but  the  general  opin- 
ion is,  that  they  cannot  constitutionally  declare  the  second. 
They  have  no  right  by  the  confederation  to  demand  funds, 
they  can  only  recommend  ;  and  to  determine  that  the  army 
shall  be  continued  in  service  till  the  states  grant  them, 
would  be  to  determine  that  the  whole  present  army  shall 
be  a  standing  army  during  peace,  unless  the  states  comply 
with  the  requisitions  for  funds.  This,  it  is  supposed,  would 
excite  the  claims  and  jealousies  of  the  states,  and  increase 
rather  than  lessen  the  opposition  to  the  funding  scheme. 
It  is  also  observed  that  the  longer  the  army  is  kept  together, 
the  more  the  payment  of  past  dues  is  procrastinated ;  the 
abilities  of  the  states  being  exhausted  for  their  immediate 
support,  and  a  new  debt  every  day  incurred.  It  is  further 
suggested,  that  there  is  danger  in  keeping  the  army  to- 
gether in  a  state  of  inactivity,  and  that  a  separation  of  the 
several  lines  would  facilitate  the  settlement  of  accounts, 
diminish  present  expense,  and  avoid  the  danger  of  the 
union.  It  is  added,  that  the  officers  of  each  line,  being  on 
the  spot,  might,  by  their  own  solicitations  and  those  of  their 
friends,  forward  the  adoption  of  funds  in  the  different 
states.  A  proposition  will  be  transmitted  to  you  by  Colo- 
nel Bland,  in  the  form  of  a  resolution  to  be  adopted  by 
congress,  framed  upon  the  principles  of  the  foregoing  rea- 
soning. 

"  Another  proposition  is  contained  in  the  following  reso- 
lution : — '  That  the  commander-in-chief  be  informed,  it  is 
the  intention  of  congress  to  effect  the  settlement  of  the 
accounts  *of  the  respective  lines  previous  to  their  reduction, 
and  that  congress  are  doing  and  will  continue  to  do  every 
thing  in  their  power  towards  procuring  satisfactory  secu- 
rities for  what  shall  be  found  due  on  such  settlement.' 


HAMILTON.  157 

"  The  scope  of  this,  your  excellency  will  perceive  with- 
out comment.  I  am  to  request  you  will  favour  me  with 
your  sentiments  on  both  the  propositions,  and  in  general 
with  your  ideas  of  what  had  best  be  done  with  reference 
to  the  expectation  expressed  by  the  officers,  taking  into 
view  the  situation  of  congress.  On  one  side,  the  army 
expect  they  will  not  be  disbanded  till  accounts  are  settled 
and  funds  established ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  no 
constitutional  power  of  doing  any  thing  more  than  to 
recommend  funds,  and  are  persuaded  that  these  will 
meet  with  mountains  of  prejudice  in  some  of  the  states. 
A  considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  a  plan  for 
funding  the  public  debt,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  will  ere 
long  go  forth  to  the  states  with  every  argument  that  can 
give  it  success. 

"  Philadelphia,  25th  of  March,  1783." 

This  public  letter  was  enclosed  in  a  private  one  of  the 
same  date,  which  exhibits  his  deep  sense  of  the  injuries  to 
which  the  army  was  exposed,  and  his  indignation  and  dis- 
gust at  the  imbecile  counsels  that  induced  congress  to  trifle 
with  so  solemn  an  engagement. 

"  SIR, 

"The  enclosed  I  write  more  in  a  public  than  in  a  private 
capacity.  Here  I  write  as  a  citizen  zealous  for  the  true 
happiness  of  this  country ;  as  a  soldier  who  feels  what  is 
due  to  an  army  which  has  suffered  every  thing  and  done 
much  for  the  safety  of  America. 

"  I  sincerely  wish  ingratitude  was  not  so  natural  to  the 
human  heart  as  it  is.  I  sincerely  wish  there  were  no 
seeds  of  it  in  those  who  direct  the  councils  of  the  United 
States.  But  while  I  urge  the  army  to  moderation,  and 
advise  your  excellency  to  take  the  direction  of  their  dis- 
contents, and  endeavour  to  confine  them  within  the  bounds 


1 58  THE    LIFE    OP 

of  duty,  I  cannot,  as  an  honest  man,  conceal  from  you  that 
I  am  afraid  their  distrusts  have  too  much  foundation.  Re- 
publican jealousy  has  in  it  a  principle  of  hostility  to  an 
army,  whatever  be  their  merits,  whatever  be  their  claims  to 
the  gratitude  of  the  community.  It  acknowledges  their 
services  with  unwillingness,  and  rewards  them  with  reluc- 
tance. I  see  this  temper,  though  smothered  with  great 
care,  involuntarily  breaking  out  upon  too  many  occasions. 
I  often  feel  a  mortification  which  it  would  be  impolitic  to 
express,  that  sets  my  passions  at  variance  Avith  my  reason. 
Too  many,  I  perceive,  if  they  could  do  it  with  safety  or 
colour,  wrould  be  glad  to  elude  the  just  pretensions  of  the 
army.  I  hope,  however,  this  is  not  the  prevailing  disposi- 
tion. 

"But  supposing  the  country  ungrateful,  what  can  the 
army  do  ?  It  must  submit  to  its  hard  fate.  To  seek  re- 
dress by  its  arms,  would  end  in  its  ruin.  The  army  would 
moulder  by  its  own  weight ;  and  for  want  of  the  means  of 
keeping  together,  the  soldiery  would  abandon  their  officers. 
There  would  be  no  chance  of  success  icithoitt  having  re- 
course to  means  that  would  reverse  our  revolution. 

"  I  make  these  observations,  not  that  I  imagine  your  ex- 
cellency can  want  motives  to  continue  your  influence  in 
the  path  of  moderation,  but  merely  to  show  why  I  cannot 
myself  enter  into  the  views  of  coercion  which  some  gen- 
tlemen entertain ;  for  I  confess,  could  force  avail,  I  should 
almost  wish  to  see  it  employed.  I  have  an  indifferent 
opinion  of  the  honesty  of  this  country,  and  ill  forebodings 
of  its  future  system. 

"Your  excellency  will  perceive  I  have  written  with 
sensations  of  chagrin,  and  will  make  allowance  for  colour- 
ing, but  the  general  picture  is  too  true.  God  send  us  all 
more  wisdom.'' 

Washington  replied  on  the  fourth  of  April : — 


HAMILTON.  159 

"DEAR  SIR, 

"  The  same  post  which  gave  me  your  two  letters  of  the 
twenty-fifth  of  March,  handed  me  one  from  Colonel  Bland 
on  the  same  point. 

"  Observing  that  both  have  been  written  at  the  desire 
of  a  committee  of  which  you  are  both  members,  I  have 
made  a  very  full  reply  to  their  subject  in  my  letter  which 
is  addressed  to  Colonel  Bland ;  and  supposing  it  unneces- 
sary to  enter  into  a  complete  detail  to  both,  I  must  beg 
leave  to  refer  you  to  Colonel  Eland's  (a  sight  of  which  I 
have  desired  him  to  give  you)  for  a  full  explanation  of  my 
ideas  and  sentiments. 

"I  read  your  private  letter  of  the  twenty-fifth  with 
pain,  and  contemplated  the  picture  it  had  drawn,  with 
astonishment  and  horror.  But  I  will  yet  hope  for  the  best. 
The  idea  of  redress  by  force,  is  too  chimerical  to  have  had 
a  place  in  the  imagination  of  any  serious  mind  in  this 
army;  but  there  is  no  telling  what  unhappy  disturbances 
may  result  from  distress  and  distrust  of  justice  :  and  as 
the  fears  and  jealousies  of  the  army  are  alive,  I  hope  no 
resolution  will  be  come  to  for  disbanding  or  separating 
the  lines  till  the  accounts  are  liquidated.  You  may  rely 
upon  it,  sir,  that  unhappy  consequences  would  follow  the 
attempt.  The  suspicions  of  the  officers  are  afloat,  not- 
withstanding the  resolutions  which  have  passed  on  both 
sides ;  any  act,  therefore,  which  can  be  construed  into  an 
attempt  to  separate  them  before  the  accounts  are  settled, 
will  convey  the  most  unfavourable  ideas  of  the  rectitude 
of  congress ;  whether  well  or  ill-founded  matters  not,  the 
consequences  will  be  the  same. 

"  I  will  now,  in  strict  confidence,  mention  a  matter  which 
may  be  useful  for  you  to  be  informed  of.  It  is,  that  some 
men  (and  leading  ones  too)  in  this  army  are  beginning  to 
entertain  suspicions  that  congress,  or  some  members  of  it, 
regardless  of  the  past  sufferings  and  present  distress — mau- 


160  THE    LIFE    OF 

gre  the  justice  which  is  due  to  them — and  the  return  which 
a  grateful  people  should  make  to  men  who  certainly  have 
contributed  more  than  any  other  class  to  the  establishment 
of  independency,  are  to  be  made  use  of  as  mere  puppets 
to  establish  continental  funds  ;  and  that  rather  than  not 
succeed  in  this  measure  or  weaken  their  ground,  they 
would  make  a  sacrifice  of  the  army  and  all  its  interests. 

"  I  have  two  reasons  for  mentioning  this  matter  to  you. 
The  one  is,  that  the  army  (considering  the  irritable  state 
it  is  in,  its  sufferings  and  composition)  is  a  dangerous  in- 
strument to  play  with ;  the  other,  that  every  possible 
means  consistent  with  their  own  views  (which  certainly 
are  moderate)  should  be  essayed  to  get  it  disbanded  with- 
out delay.  I  might  add  a  third ;  it  is,  that  the  financier  is 
suspected  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  this  scheme.  If  senti- 
ments of  this  sort  should  become  general,  their  operation 
will  be  opposed  to  this  plan,  at  the  same  time  that  it 
would  increase  the  present  discontents.  Upon  the  whole, 
disband  the  army  as  soon  as  possible,  but  consult  the 
wishes  of  it,  which  really  are  moderate,  in  the  mode,  and 
perfectly  compatible  with  the  honour,  dignity,  and  justice 
\vhich  is  due  from  the  country  to  it.  I  am,  with  great  re- 
gard, dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant." 

Hamilton  answered  on  the  eleventh  of  April : — 

"  SIR, 

"  I  have  received  your  excellency's  letters  of  the  thirty- 
first  of  March  and  fourth  of  April,  the  last  to-day.  The 
one  to  Colonel  Bland,  as  member  of  the  committee,  has  been 
read  in  committee  confidentially,  and  gave  great  satisfac- 
tion. The  idea  of  not  attempting  to  separate  the  army 
before  the  settlement  of  accounts,  corresponds  with  my 
proposition  ;  that  of  endeavouring  to  let  them  have  some 
pay,  had  also  appeared  to  me  indispensable.  The  expec- 


HAMILTON.  161 

tations  of  the  army,  as  represented  by  your  excellency,  are 
moderation  itself.  To-morrow  we  confer  with  the  super- 
intendent of  finance  on  the  subject  of  money.  There  will 
be  difficulty,  but  not,  we  hope,  insurmountable.  I  thank 
your  excellency  for  the  hints  you  are  so  obliging  as  to 
give  me  in  your  private  letter.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the 
suspicions  that  have  been  infused ;  nor  should  I  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  I  have  been  pointed  out  as  one  of  the 
persons  concerned  in  playing  the  game  described :  but 
facts  must  speak  for  themselves.  The  gentlemen  who 
were  here  from  the  army,  General  McDougall  who  is  still 
here,  will  be  able  to  give  a  true  account  of  those  who 
have  supported  the  just  claims  of  the  army,  and  of  those 
who  have  endeavoured  to  elude  them.  There  are  two 
classes  of  men,  sir,  in  congress  of  very  different  views ; 
one  attached  to  state,  the  other  to  continental  politics. 
The  last  have  been  strenuous  advocates  for  funding  the 
public  debt  upon  solid  securities ;  the  former  have  given 
every  opposition  in  their  power,  and  have  only  been  drag- 
ged into  the  measures,  which  are  now  near  being  adopted, 
by  the  clamours  of  the  army  and  other  public  creditors. 
The  advocates  for  continental  funds  have  blended  the  in- 
terests of  the  army  with  other  creditors,  from  a  convic- 
tion, that  no  funds  for  partial  purposes  will  go  through 
those  states  to  whose  citizens  the  United  States  are  largely 
indebted  ;  or  if  they  should  be  carried  through  from  im- 
pressions of  the  moment,  would  have  the  necessary  sta- 
bility ;  for  the  influence  of  those  unprovided  for  would  al- 
ways militate  against  a  provision  for  others,  in  exclusion 
of  them.  It  is  in  vain  to  tell  men  who  have  parted  with 
a  large  part  of  their  property  on  the  public  faith,  that  the 
services  of  the  army  are  entitled  to  a  preference.  They 
would  reason  from  their  interest  and  their  feelings :  these 
would  tell  them  that  they  had  as  great  a  title  as  any  other 
class  of  the  community  to  public  justice,  and  that  while 

21 


162  THE    LIFE    OF 

this  was  denied  to  them,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  make 
them  bear  their  part  of  a  burden  for  the  benefit  of  others. 
This  is  the  way  they  would  reason,  and  as  their  influence 
in  some  of  the  states  was  considerable,  they  would  have 
been  able  to  prevent  any  partial  provision. 

"  But  the  question  was  not  merely  how  to  do  justice  to 
the  creditors,  but  how  to  restore  public  credit.  Taxation 
in  this  country,  it  was  found,  could  not  supply  a  sixth  part 
of  the  public  necessities.  The  loans  in  Europe  were  far 
short  of  the  balance,  and  the  prospect  every  day  diminish- 
ing :  the  court  of  France  telling  us,  in  plain  terms,  she 
could  not  even  do  as  much  as  she  had  done ;  individuals  in 
Holland,  and  every  where  else,  refusing  to  part  with  their 
money  on  the  precarious  tenure  of  the  mere  faith  of  this 
country,  without  any  pledge  for  the  payment  either  of 
principal  or  interest.  In  this  situation,  what  was  to  be 
done  ?  It  was  essential  to  our  cause  that  vigorous  efforts 
should  be  made  to  restore  public  credit ;  it  was  necessary 
to  combine  all  the  motives  to  this  end,  that  could  operate 
upon  different  descriptions  of  persons  in  the  different 
states.  The  necessity  and  discontents  of  the  army  pre- 
sented themselves  as  a  powerful  engine.  But,  sir,  these 
gentlemen  would  be  puzzled  to  support  their  insinuations 
by  a  single  fact.  It  was  indeed  proposed  to  appropriate 
the  intended  impost  on  trade  to  the  army  debt,  and,  what 
was  extraordinary,  by  gentlemen  who  had  expressed  their 
dislike  to  the  principle  of  the  fund.  I  acknowledge  I  was 
one  that  opposed  this,  for  the  reasons  already  assigned  and 
for  these  additional  ones :  that  was  the  fund  on  which  we 
most  counted  to  obtain  further  loans  in  Europe ;  it  was 
necessary  we  should  have  a  fund  sufficient  to  pay  the  in- 
terest of  what  had  been  borrowed  and  what  was  to  be 
borrowed.  The  truth  was,  these  people  in  this  instance 
wanted  to  play  off  the  army  against  the  funding  system. 

"  As  to  Mr.  Morris,  I  will  give  your  excellency  a  true 


HAMILTON.  ]  63 

explanation  of  his  conduct.  He  had  been  for  some  time 
pressing  congress  to  endeavour  to  obtain  funds,  and  had 
found  a  great  backwardness  in  the  business.  He  found 
the  taxes  unproductive  in  the  different  states  ;  he  found 
the  loans  in  Europe  making  a  very  slow  progress  ;  he  found 
himself  pressed  on  all  hands  for  supplies  ;  he  found  himself, 
in  short,  reduced  to  this  alternative — either  of  making  en- 
gagements which  he  could  not  fulfil,  or  declaring  his  resig- 
nation in  case  funds  were  not  established  by  a  given  time. 
Had  he  followed  the  first  course,  the  bubble  must  soon 
have  burst ;  he  must  have  sacrificed  his  credit  and  his 
character,  and  public  credit,  already  in  a  ruined  condition, 
would  have  lost  its  last  support.  He  wisely  judged  it  bet- 
ter to  resign ;  this  might  increase  the  embarrassments  of 
the  moment,  but  the  necessity  of  the  case,  it  was  to  be 
hoped,  would  produce  the  proper  measures,  and  he  might 
then  resume  the  direction  of  the  machine  with  advantage 
and  success.  He  also  had  some  hope  that  his  resignation 
would  prove  a  stimulus  to  congress.  He  was,  however, 
ill  advised  in  the  publication  of  his  letters  of  resignation. 
This  was  an  imprudent  step,  and  has  given  a  handle  to  his 
personal  enemies,  who,  by  playing  upon  the  passions  of 
others,  have  drawn  some  well-meaning  men  into  the  cry 
against  him.  But  Mr.  Morris  certainly  deserves  a  great 
deal  from  his  country.  I  believe  no  man  in  this  country 
but  himself  could  have  kept  the  money  machine  a  going 
during  the  period  he  has  been  in  office.  From  every  thing 
that  appears,  his  administration  has  been  upright  as  well 
as  able.  The  truth  is.  the  old  leaven  of  Deane  and  Lee  is 
at  this  day  working  against  Mr.  Morris.  He  happened  in 
that  dispute  to  have  been  on  the  side  of  Deane,  and  certain 
men  can  never  forgive  him.  A  man  whom  I  once  esteemed, 
and  whom  I  will  rather  suppose  duped  than  wicked,  is  the 
second  actor  in  this  business. 

"  The  matter  with  respect  to  the  army,  which  has  occa- 


164  THE    LIFE    OF 

sioned  most  altercation  in  congress,  and  most  dissatisfaction 
in  the  army,  has  been  the  half-pay.  The  opinions  on  this 
head  have  been  two:  one  party  was  for  referring  the 
several  lines  to  their  states,  to  make  such  commutation  as 
they  should  think  proper ;  the  other,  for  making  the  com- 
mutation by  congress,  and  funding  it  on  continental  secu- 
rity. I  was  of  this  last  opinion,  and  so  were  all  those  who 
will  be  represented  as  having  made  use  of  the  army  as 
puppets.  Our  principal  reasons  were — First,  by  referring 
the  lines  to  their  respective  states,  those  which  were  op- 
posed to  the- half-pay  would  have  taken  advantage  of  the 
officers'  necessities  to  make  the  commutation  far  short  of 
an  equivalent.  Secondly,  the  inequality  which  would  have 
arisen  in  the  different  states  when  the  officers  came  to  com- 
pare, (as  has  happened  in  other  cases,)  would  have  been  a 
new  source  of  discontent.  Thirdly,  such  a  reference  was 
a  continuance  of  the  old  wretched  state  system,  by  which 
the  ties  between  congress  and  the  army  have  been 
nearly  dissolved — by  which  the  resources  of  the  states 
have  been  diverted  from  the  common  treasury  and  wasted  ; 
a  system  which  your  excellency  has  often  justly  repro- 
bated. 

"  I  have  gone  into  these  details  to  give  you  a  just  idea  of 
the  parties  in  congress.  I  assure  you  upon  my  honour,  sir, 
I  have  given  you  a  candid  statement  of  facts  to  the  best 
of  my  judgment.  The  men  against  whom  the  suspicions 
you  mention  must  be  directed,  are  in  general  the  most  sen- 
sible, the  most  liberal,  the  most  independent,  and  the  most 
respectable  characters  in  our  body,  as  well  as  the  most  un- 
equivocal friends  to  the  army ;  in  a  word,  they  are  the 
men  who  think  continentally. 

"  I  am  chairman  of  a  committee  for  peace  arrangements. 
We  shall  ask  your  excellency's  opinion  at  large  on  a  proper 
military  peace  establishment. 

"We  at  this  moment  learn  an  officer  is  arrived  from 


HAMILTON.  165 

Sir  Guy  Carleton  with  despatches;  probably  official  ac- 
counts of  peace." 

From  this  letter  may  be  seen  the  delicate  and  embar- 
rassing position  in  which  Hamilton  was  placed.  Com- 
pelled by  a  high  sense  of  duty,  and  by  his  comprehensive 
views  of  the  public  interest,  to  oppose  those  feeble  and 
partial  measures  of  finance  which  he  saw  must  result  in 
failure,  he  was  exposed  to  all  that  misrepresentation  and 
malice  could  suggest  as  to  his  motives,  and  to  the  injurious 
suspicion  that,  from  considerations  of  policy,  he  would  par- 
ticipate in  schemes  to  render  the  soldiery  mere  puppets  to 
advance  the  establishment  of  permanent  funds. 

Prompted,  on  the  other  hand,  by  that  devotion  to  the 
army  and  care  of  its  interests  which  his  relations  to  them 
peculiarly  demanded  of  him,  and  which  his  deep  distrust 
of  the  purposes  of  congress  increased,  to  use  every  proper 
mean  to  enforce  their  claims,  and  almost  to  sanction  a 
line  of  conduct  which  was  so  necessary,  and  yet  so  full  of 
jeopardy,  he  unjustly  incurred  the  deeper  and  more  dan- 
gerous suspicion  of  being  accessary  to  an  excitement 
which,  once  aroused,  might  disregard  all  control,  and  in- 
volve every  interest,  civil  and  military,  in  one  common  ruin. 

Under  these  circumstances  he  followed  the  dictates  of  a 
lofty  intellect,  and  with  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  patri- 
otism of  his  fellow-soldiers,  and  with  a  firm  belief  that  the 
dangers  of  military  insubordination  were  exaggerated,  he 
adhered  to  his  determination  never  to  relinquish  the  de- 
mands of  public  faith,  which  he  pronounced  "  the  corner- 
stone of  public  safety."  He  soon  after  received  the  fol- 
lowing explanatory  letter  from  Washington. 

"  Newburgh. 
"  DEAR  SIR, 

"  My  last  letter  to  you  was  written  in  a  hurry,  when  I 
was  fatigued  by  the  more  public  yet  confidential  letter  which 


166  THE    LIFE    OF 

(with  several  others)  accompanied  it.  Possibly  I  did  not 
on  that  occasion  express  myself,  in  what  I  intended  as  a 
hint,  with  so  much  perspicuity  as  I  ought.  Possibly,  too, 
what  I  then  dropped  might  have  conveyed  more  than  I 
intended,  for  I  do  not  at  this  time  recollect  the  force  of 
my  expression. 

"  My  meaning,  however,  was  only  to  inform  (you)  that 
there  were  different  sentiments  in  the  army  as  well  as  in 
congress  respecting  continental  and  state  funds, — some 
wishing  to  be  thrown  upon  their  respective  states,  rather 
than  the  continent  at  large,  for  payment ;  and  that,  if  an 
idea  should  prevail  generally  that  congress,  or  part  of  its 
members  or  ministers,  bent  upon  the  latter,  should  delay 
doing  them  justice,  or  hazard  it  in  pursuit  of  their  favour- 
ite object,  it  might  create  such  divisions  in  the  army  as 
would  weaken  rather  than  strengthen  the  hands  of  those 
who  were  disposed  to  support  continental  measures,  and 
might  tend  to  defeat  the  end  they  themselves  had  in  view 
by  endeavouring  to  involve  the  army.  For  these  reasons 
I  said,  or  meant  to  say,  the  army  was  a  dangerous  engine 
to  work  with,  as  it  might  be  made  to  cut  both  ways,  and, 
considering  the  sufferings  of  it,  would  more  than  probably 
throw  its  weight  into  that  scale  which  seemed  most  likely 
to  preponderate  towards  its  immediate  relief,  without  look- 
ing forward  (under  the  pressure  of  present  wants)  to  future 
consequences  with  the  eyes  of  politicians.  In  this  light, 
also,  I  meant  to  apply  my  observations  to  Mr.  Morris,  to 
whom,  or  rather  to  Mr.  G.  M.,  is  ascribed  in  a  great  degree 
the  groundwork  of  the  superstructure  which  was  intended 
to  be  raised  in  the  army  by  the  anonymous  addresses. 

"  That  no  man  can  be  more  opposed  to  state  funds  and 
local  prejudices  than  myself,  the  whole  tenor  of  my  con- 
duct has  been  one  continual  evidence  of.  No  man,  perhaps, 
has  had  better  opportunities  to  see  and  to  feel  the  pernicious 
tendency  of  the  latter  than  I  have,  and  I  endeavour  (I 


HAMILTON.  167 

t 

hope  not  altogether  ineffectually)  to  inculcate  them  upon 
the  officers  of  the  army  upon  all  proper  occasions ;  but  their 
feelings  are  to  be  attended  to  and  soothed,  and  they  as- 
sured that,  if  continental  funds  cannot  be  established, 
they  will  be  recommended  to  their  respective  states  for 
payment.  Justice  must  be  done  them.  I  should  do  in- 
justice to  report,  and  what  I  believe  to  be  the  opinion  of 
the  army,  were  I  not  to  inform  you  that  they  consider  you 
as  a  friend  zealous  to  serve  them,  and  one  who  has  espoused 
their  interests  in  congress  upon  every  proper  occasion.  It 
is  to  be  wished,  as  I  observed  in  my  letter  to  Colonel  Bland, 
that  congress  would  send  a  committee  to  the  army  with 
plenipo.  powers.  The  matters  requested  of  me  in  your 

letter  of  the ,  as  chah'man  of  a  committee,  and  many 

other  things,  might  then  be  brought  to  a  close  with  more 
despatch,  and  in  a  happier  manner,  than  it  is  likely  they 
will  be  by  an  intercourse  of  letters  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  which  takes  our  expresses  a  week 
at  least  to  go  and  come.  At  this  moment,  being  without 
any  instructions  from  congress,  I  am  under  great  embar- 
rassment with  respect  to  the  soldiers  for  the  war,  and  shall 
be  obliged  more  than  probably,  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  to  exercise  my  own  judgment,  without  waiting  for 
orders  as  to  the  discharge  of  them.  If  I  should  adopt 
measures  which  events  may  approve,  all  will  be  well ;  if 
otherwise,  why  and  by  what  authority  did  you  do  so  ? 
"  How  far  a  strong  recommendation  from  congress  to 

observe  all  the  articles  of  peace,  as  well  as  the *  may 

imply  a  suspicion  of  good  faith  in  the  people  of  this  country, 
I  pretend  not  to  judge  ;  but  I  am  much  mistaken  if  some- 
thing of  the  kind  will  not  be  found  wanting,  as  I  already 
perceive  a  disposition  to  carp  at  and  to  elude  such  parts  of 
the  treaty  as  affect  their  different  interests,  although  you  do 

*  The  blank  exists  in  the  original. 


168  THE    LIFE    OF 

not  find  a  man  who,  when  pushed,  will  not  acknowledge 
that  upon  the  whole  it  is  a  more  advantageous  peace  than 
we  could  possibly  have  expected.  I  arn,  dear  sir,  with 
great  esteem  and  regard, 

"  G.  W." 

* 

The  preliminary  articles  of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain 
were  ratified  on  the  fifteenth  of  April.*  Immediately  after 
this  act,  on  the  same  day,  instructions  were  given  to  the 
agent  of  marine  to  discharge  the  naval  prisoners,  and 
Washington  was  authorized  to  make  the  proper  arrange- 
ments with  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces 
for  receiving  the  posts  occupied  by  the  British,  and  for 
obtaining  the  delivery  of  the  negroes  and  other  American 
property  in  their  possession.  The  secretary  of  war  was 
also  directed,  conjointly  with  the  commander-in-chief,  to 
take  proper  arrangements  for  liberating  the  land  prisoners. 

A  motion  was  made  to  exclude  Washington  from  any 
participation  in  the  restoration  of  the  prisoners,  but  k  did 
not  prevail. 

Notwithstanding  his  strenuous  exertions  to  establish  the 
construction,  that  execution  was  to  date  from  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  provisional  treaty,  in  this  Hamilton  had  been 
defeated.  To  release  the  prisoners  under  such  circum- 
stances, wras  manifestly  impolitic.  It  would  strengthen  the 
enemy,  and  would  also  deprive  the  United  States  of  the 
power  of  making  their  restoration  an  equivalent  for  the 
surrender  of  the  posts. 

It  was  important,  therefore,  to  ascertain  the  construction 
of  the  treaty  by  the  British  commander.  Should  he  de- 
termine to  retain  the  posts,  the  United  States  would  be 
justified  in  retaining  the  prisoners.  With  this  view,  on  the 


*  1  Mad.  454,  mentions  a  motion  of  "  Hamilton  to  insert,  in  a  definitive 
treaty,  a  mutual  stipulation  not  to  keep  a  naval  force  on  the  lakes." 


HAMILTON.  169 

day  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  he  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  Washington. 

April  15,  1783. 
SIR, 

There  are  two  resolutions  passed  relative  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  British  prisoners,  and  to  making  arrangements 
for  the  surrender  of  the  posts  in  the  possession  of  the  Brit- 
ish troops.  The  first  of  which  is  to  be  transacted  by  you, 
in  conjunction  with  the  secretary  of  war  ;  the  latter,  by 
yourself  alone.  I  will  explain  to  you  some  doubts  which 
have  arisen  in  congress  with  regard  to  the  true  construc- 
tion of  the  provisional  treaty,  which  may  be  of  use  to  you 
in  transacting  the  business  above  mentioned. 

The  sixth  article  declares  that  there  shall  be  no  future 
confiscations,  &c.,  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  in 
America,  and  the  seventh  article  makes  the  surrender  of 
prisoners,  evacuation  of  posts,  cessation  of  hostilities,  &c., 
to  depend  on  that  event,  to  wit :  the  ratification  of  the  trea- 
ty in  America.  Now  the  doubt  is,  whether  the  treaty  means 
the  provisional  treaty  already  concluded,  or  the  definitive 
treaty  to  be  concluded.  The  last  construction  is  most  agree- 
able to  the  letter  of  the  provisional  articles;*  the  former 
most  agreeable  to  the  usual  practice  of  nations,  for  hostili- 
ties commonly  cease  on  the  ratification  of  the  preliminary 
treaty.  There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  in  congress. 
It  will  be  in  my  opinion  advisable,  at  the  same  time  that 
we  do  not  communicate  our  doubts  to  the  British,  to  extract 
their  sense  of  the  matter  from  them. 

This  may  be  done  by  asking  them  at  what  period  they 
are  willing  to  stipulate  the  surrender  of  posts,  at  the  same 
time  that  they  are  asked,  in  what  manner  it  will  be  most 

*  Madison  Debates,  pp.  440,  443,  444.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the 
representation  given  in  these  pages  with  the  above  opinion,  expressed  on  the 
very  day  of  the  ratification. 

22 


170  THE    LIFE    OF 

convenient  to  them  to  receive  the  prisoners.  If  they 
postpone  the  evacuation  of  the  different  posts  to  the  defin- 
itive treaty,  we  shall  then  be  justified  in  doing  the  same 
with  respect  to  prisoners.  The  question  will  then  arise, 
whether,  on  principles  of  humanity,  economy,  and  liber- 
ality, we  ought  not  to  restore  the  prisoners  at  all  events, 
without  delay.  Much  may  be  said  on  both  sides.  I  doubt 
the  expedience  of  a  total  restoration  of  prisoners,  till  they 
are  willing  to  fix  the  epochs  at  which  they  will  take  leave 
of  us.  It  will  add  considerably  to  their  strength ;  and  ac- 
cidents, though  improbable,  may  happen.  I  confess,  how- 
ever, I  am  not  clear  in  my  opinion.  The  provisional  or 
preliminary  treaty  is  ratified  by  us  for  greater  caution. 

The  instructions  to  the  commander-in-chief,  of  the  pre- 
vious day,  were  in  peremptory  terms.  With  a  view  to 
enable  him  to  exercise  a  discretion  as  to  the  execution  of 
the  seventh  article,  dependent  on  the  British  construction, 
Hamilton  on  the  following  day  proposed  to  modify  these 
instructions  so  as  to  authorize  him  to  enter  into  prepara- 
tory arrangements  relative  to  it ;  but  though  a  majority  of  the 
states  were  in  favour  of  this  proposition,  the  constitutional 
number  was  not  obtained.*  He  soon  after  received  a  letter 
from  Washington  which  shows  their  concurrence  of  opinion. 

Newburgh,  22d  April,  1783. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  did  not  receive  your  letter  of  the  fifteenth  until  after  my 
return  from  Ringwood,  where  I  had  a  meeting  with  the  sec- 
retary at  war,  for  the  purpose  of  making  arrangements  for 
the  release  of  our  prisoners,  agreeably  to  the  resolve  of  con- 
gress of  the  fifteenth  instant.  Finding  a  diversity  of  opin- 
ion respecting  the  treaty  and  the  line  of  conduct  we  ought 

*  Negative  3,  affirmative  5,  divided  2. 


HAMILTON.  171 

to  observe  with  the  prisoners,  I  requested,  in  precise  terms, 
to  know  from  General  Lincoln,  (before  I  entered  on  the 
business,)  whether  we  were  to  exercise  our  own  judgment 
with  respect  to  the  time  as  well  as  mode  of  releasing  them, 
or  was  to  be  confined  to  the  latter  ;  being  informed  that  we 
had  no  option  in  the  first,  congress  wishing  to  be  eased  of 
the  expense  as  soon  as  possible,  I  acted  solely  on  that 
ground. 

At  the  same  time,  I  scruple  not  to  confess  to  you,  that 
if  this  measure  was  not  dictated  by  necessity,  it  is,  in  my 
opinion,  an  impolitic  one,  as  we  place  ourselves  in  the 
power  of  the  British  before  the  treaty  is  definitive.  The 
manner  in  which  peace  was  first  announced,  and  the  sub- 
sequent declarations  of  it,  have  led  the  country  and  army 
into  a  belief  that  it  was  final.  The  ratification  of  the  pre- 
liminary articles  on  the  third  of  February  so  far  confirmed 
this,  that  one  consequence  resulting  from  it  is,  the  soldiers 
for  the  war  conceive  that  the  term  of  their  services  has  ac- 
tually expired  ;  and  I  believe  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  con- 
gress or  their  officers  to  hold  them  much,  if  any  longer ; 
for  we  are  obliged  at  this  moment  to  increase  our  guards 
to  prevent  rioting,  and  the  insults  which  the  officers  meet 
with  in  attempting  to  hold  them  to  their  duty.  The  pro- 
portion of  these  men  amounts  to  seven-elevenths  of  this 
army ;  these  we  shall  lose  at  the  moment  the  British  army 
will  receive  by  their  prisoners  five  or  six  thousand  men. 
It  is  not  for  me  to  investigate  the  causes  which  induced 
this  measure,  nor  the  policy  of  those  letters  (from  author- 
ity) which  gave  the  ton  to  the  present  sentiment ;  but 
since  they  have  been  adopted,  we  ought,  in  my  opinion,  to 
put  a  good  face  upon  matters,  and  by  a  liberal  conduct 
throughout,  on  our  part,  freed  from  appearances  of  dis- 
trust, try  if  we  cannot  excite  similar  dispositions  on  theirs. 
Indeed,  circumstanced  as  things  now  are,  I  wish  most  fer- 
vently that  all  the  troops  which  are  not  retained  for  a 


172  THE    LIFE    OP 

peace  establishment  were  to  be  discharged  immediately, 
or  such  of  them  at  least  as  do  not  incline  to  await  the  set- 
tlement of  their  accounts.  If  they  continue  here,  their 
claims,  I  can  plainly  perceive,  will  increase  and  our  perplex- 
ities multiply.  A  petition  is  this  moment  handed  to  me 
from  the  non-commissioned  officers  of  the  Connecticut 
line,  soliciting  their  pay.  It  is  well  drawn,  I  am  told,  but 
I  did  not  read  it.  I  sent  it  back  without  appearing  to  un- 
derstand the  contents,  because  it  did  not  come  through  the 
channel  of  their  officers.  This  may  be  followed  by  others  ; 
and  I  mention  it  to  show  the  necessity,  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  discharging  the  war's  men  as  soon  as  possible. 

I  have  taken  much  pains  to  support  Mr.  Morris's  admin- 
istration in  the  army ;  and  in  proportion  to  its  numbers,  I 
believe  he  had  not  more  friends  any  where.  But  if  he 
will  neither  adopt  the  mode  which  has  been  suggested, 
point  out  any  other,  nor  show  cause  why  the  first  is  im- 
practicable or  impolitic,  (I  have  heard  he  objects  to  it,)  they 
will  certainly  attribute  their  disappointment  to  a  lukewarm- 
ness  in  him,  or  some  design  incompatible  with  their  inter- 
ests. And  here,  my  dear  Colonel  Hamilton,  let  me  assure 
you  that  it  would  not  be  more  difficult  to  still  the  raging 
billows  in  a  tempestuous  gale,  than  to  convince  the  officers 
of  this  army  of  the  justice  or  policy  of  paying  men  in  civil 
offices  full  wages,  when  they  cannot  obtain  a  sixtieth  part  of 
their  dues.  I  am  not  unapprised  of  the  arguments  which 
are  made  use  of  upon  this  occasion  to  discriminate  the 
cases  ;  but  they  really  are  futile,  and  may  be  summed  up  in 
this — that  though  both  are  contending  for  the  same  rights 
and  expect  equal  benefits,  yet,  both  cannot  submit  to  the 
same  inconveniences  to  obtain  them  ;  otherwise,  to  adopt 
the  language  of  simplicity  and  plainness,  a  ration  of  salt 
pork,  with  or  without  pease,  as  the  case  often  is,  would 
support  the  one  as  well  as  the  other,  and  in  such  a  struggle 
as  ours,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  alike  honourable  in  both. 


HAMILTON.  173 

My  anxiety  to  get  home  increases  with  the  prospect 
of  it ;  but  when  is  it  to  happen  ? — I  have  not  heard  that 
congress  have  yet  had  under  consideration  the  lands  and 
other  gratuities,  which  at  different  periods  of  the  war 
have  been  promised  to  the  army. 

Do  not  these  things  evince  the  necessity  of  a  committee's 
repairing  to  camp,  in  order  to  arrange  and  adjust  matters, 
without  spending  time  in  a  tedious  exchange  of  letters. 
Unless  something  of  this  kind  is  adopted,  business  will  be 
delayed  and  expenses  accumulated ;  or  the  army  will 
break  up  in  disorder — go  home  enraged — complaining  of 
injustice,  and  committing  enormities  on  the  innocent  in- 
habitants in  every  direction. 

I  write  to  you  unreservedly.  If,  therefore,  contrary  to 
my  apprehension,  all  these  matters  are  in  a  proper  train, 
and  Mr.  Morris  has  devised  means  to  give  the  army  three 
months'  pay,  you  will,  I  am  persuaded,  excuse  my  pre- 
cipitancy and  solicitude,  by  ascribing  it  to  an  earnest  wish 
to  see  the  war  happily  and  honourably  terminated — to  my 
anxious  desire  of  enjoying  some  repose — and  the  necessity 
of  my  paying  a  little  attention  to  my  private  concerns, 
which  have  suffered  considerably  in  eight  years'  absence. 

McHenry  expressing — in  a  letter  I  have  lately  received 
from  him — a  wish  to  be  appointed  official  secretary  to  the 
court  of  Versailles  or  London,  I  have  by  this  opportu- 
nity written  to  Mr.  Livingston  and  Mr.  Maddison,  speak- 
ing of  him  in  warm  terms,  and  wish  him  success  with  all 
my  heart. 

The  day  after  this  letter  was  written,  congress  declared 
that  the  time  of  the  men  engaged  to  serve  during  the  war, 
did  not  expire  until  the  ratification  of  the  definitive  treaty. 

As  chairman  of  the  committee  for  peace  arrangements, 
the  duty  devolved  upon  Hamilton  of  directing  the  imme- 
diate discharge  of  the  naval  prisoners,  the  detention  of 


174  THE    LIFE   OF 

•whom  was  not  prompted  by  the  policy  which  would  have 
retained  those  of  the  army.  In  a  letter  to  the  superin- 
tendent of  finance,  who  was  also  the  agent  of  marine,  re- 
specting these  prisoners,  he  suggested  to  him  the  formation 
of  a  plan  for  a  national  marine,  in  pursuance  of  the 
opinions  expressed  in  "The  Continentalist,"  that,  as  "a 
commercial  people,  maritime  power  must  be  a  primary 
object  of  our  attention,  and  that  a  Navy  cannot  be  created 
or  maintained  without  ample  resources."  Referring  also 
to  the  mint  which  had  been  authorized  during  the  preced- 
ing year,  he  again  adverted  to  the  establishment  of  a 

NATIONAL    COINAGE. 

The  various  topics  which  engaged  his  attention,  while 
they  called  forth  all  the  powers,  show  the  fulness  and 
elasticity  of  his  mind.  His  public  avocations  did  not  oc- 
cupy all  his  attention ;  many  of  his  intervals  of  leisure 
were  devoted  to  the  general  study  of  finance.  Having 
previously  perused  the  earlier  writers,  he  now  entered 
upon  a  deliberate  examination  of  the  political  economy  of 
Adam  Smith,  and  wrote,  while  a  member  of  congress,  an 
extended  commentary  upon  his  "  Wealth  of  Nations," 
which  is  not  preserved.* 

It  has  been  perceived  that  the  debate  on  the  revenue 
system  was  interrupted  by  the  discussion  of  the  claims 
of  the  army,  the  general  principle,  the  necessity  of  per- 
manent and  adequate  funds,  having  been  adopted.  This 
subject  was  resumed,  and,  on  the  motion  of  Madison,  a 
proposition  was  made  reasserting  this  principle,  but  omit- 
ting the  provision  contained  in  Hamilton's  resolution,  that 
these  funds  should  be  "  collected  by  congress"]  This  fatal 
concession  to  state  prejudices,  wholly  at  war  with  Hamil- 
ton's opinions  and  with  a  national  policy,  was  followed  by 


*  Related  by  P.  S.  Duponccau,  a  distinguished  civilian  of  Philadelphia, 
t  Madison  Debates,  vol.  1,  p.  289. 


HAMILTON.  175 

another  only  less  hostile  to  the  object  in  view,  the  establish- 
ment of  a  basis  for  loans.  It  was  the  limitation  of  the  dura- 
tion of  the  revenue  act  to  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

Hamilton  strenuously  opposed  both  these  concessions, 
insisting  that  the  principles  of  the  address  to  Rhode  Island, 
which  the  house  had  sanctioned,  ought  not  to  be  departed 
from.  The  duration  of  the  act,  he  asserted,  ought  to  be 
co-extensive  with  the  existence  of  the  debt,  and  the  collec- 
tion as  well  as  the  appropriation  should  be  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  United  States.  In  these  views  he  was  sustain- 
ed by  Bland  of  Virginia ;  but  Madison  concurring  with 
Lee  and  Mercer,  the  vote  of  that  state  was  given  in  favour 
of  a  limited  term.* 

*  Madison  Papers,  vol.  1,  342. — Madison  states  a  motion  by  Hamilton, 
seconded  by  Bland,  to  postpone  the  clause  limiting  its  duration  to  25  years, 
"  in  order  to  substitute  a  proposition  declaring  it  to  be  inexpedient  to  limit 
the  period  of  its  duration  ;  first,  because  it  ought  to  be  commensurate  to  the 
duration  of  the  debt ;  secondly,  because  it  was  improper  in  the  present  state 
of  the  business,  and  all  the  limitation  of  which  it  would  admit,  had  been 
defined  in  the  resolutions  of  the  16th  of  Dec.  1782.  Hamilton  said,  in  sup- 
port of  his  motion,  that  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  to  gain  the  concurrence  of 
the  states  by  removing  the  objections  publicly  Assigned  by  them  against  the 
impost ;  that  the  true  objection  on  the  part  of  Rhode  Island  was  the  interfe- 
rence of  the  impost  with  the  opportunity  afforded  by  their  situation  of  levying 
contributions  on  Connecticut,  &c.,  which  received  foreign  supplies  through 
the  ports  of  Rhode  Island ;  that  the  true  objection  on  the  part  of  Virginia, 
was  her  having  little  share  in  the  debts  due  from  the  United  States,  to  which 
the  impost  would  be  applied  ;  that  a  removal  of  the  avowed  objections  would 
not,  therefore,  remove  the  obstructions ;  whilst  it  would  admit,  on  the  part 
of  congress,  that  their  first  recommendation  went  beyond  the  absolute  exi- 
gencies of  the  public ;  that  congress,  having  taken  a  proper  ground  at  first, 
ought  to  maintain  it  till  time  should  convince  the  states  of  the  propriety  of 
the  measure. 

"  Mr.  Bland  said,  that  as  the  debt  had  been  contracted  by  congress  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  states,  and  congress  was  looked  to  for  payment  by 
the  public  creditors,  it  was  justifiable  and  requisite  in  them  to  pursue  such 
means  as  would  be  adequate  to  the  discharge  of  the  debt ;  and  that  the 
means  would  not  be  adequate,  if  limited  in  duration  to  a  period  within  which 
no  calculations  had  shown  that  the  debt  would  be  discharged."  — The  ayea 


176  THE    LIFE    OF 

Small  as  the  motive  was  to  proceed  in  the  completion 
of  the  system,  Hamilton  still  hoped  that  before  the  final 
vote  was  taken,  congress  would  return  to  the  only  princi- 
ples on  which  an  effective  public  credit  could  be  establish- 
ed. He  then  submitted  to  the  committee  a  list  of  "  objects 
for  taxation."  In  addition  to  the  impost,  he  proposed  a 
graduated  house  tax,  a  land  tax,  and  various  specific  taxes. 

In  this  plan  the  objects  of  taxation  were  so  chosen,  as  to 
throw  the  public  burdens  chiefly  upon  luxuries.  They 
were  the  same,  excluding  a  few,  with  those  which  were 
embraced  in  the  first  revenue  system  under  the  present 
government. 

In  the  proposed  house  tax,  he  was  governed  by  a  con- 
sideration to  which  he  attached  great  weight — the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  arbitrary  system  of  assessments.  "  Do  we 
imagine,"  he  had  remarked  in  the  Continentalist,  "  that  our 
assessments  operate  equally  ?  Nothing  can  be  more  con- 
trary to  the  fact.  Wherever  a  discretionary  power  is 
lodged  in  any  set  of  men  over  the  property  of  their  neigh- 
bours, they  will  abuse  it.  Their  passions,  prejudices,  parti- 
alities, dislikes,  will  have  the  principal  lead  in  measuring 
the  abilities  of  those  over  whom  their  power  extends  ;  and 
assessors  will  ever  be  a  set  of  petty  tyrants,  too  unskilful, 
if  honest,  to  be  possessed  of  so  delicate  a  trust,  and  too  sel- 
dom honest  to  give  them  the  excuse  of  want  of  skill.  The 
genius  of  liberty  reprobates  every  thing  arbitrary  or  dis- 
cretionary in  taxation.  It  exacts  that  every  man,  by  a 
definite  and  general  rule,  should  know  what  proportion  of 
his  property  the  state  demands.  "Whatever  liberty  we 
may  boast  in  theory,  it  cannot  exist  in  fact,  while  assess- 
ments continue.  The  admission  of  them  among  us,  is  a 


were  —  Rhode  Island,  New- York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  South  Carolina.  Noes — Massachusetts,  Virginia,  (Colonel  Bland, 
aye,)  Connecticut,  and  New-Hampshire,  divided. 


HAMILTON.  177 

new  proof  how  often  human  conduct  reconciles  the  most 
glaring  opposites  ;  in  the  present  case,  the  most  vicious 
practice  of  despotic  governments  with  the  freest  constitu- 
tions and  the  greatest  love  of  liberty." 

While  the  discussion  was  proceeding,  the  superintend- 
ent of  finance  addressed  a  letter  to  congress,  stating  "that 
the  revenue  should  be  co-existent  with  the  debt ;  that  if 
granted  for  a  fixed  period  of  time,  no  more  money  could 
be  borrowed  on  it  than  the  price  of  an  annuity  for  such  a 
time,  and  the  more  clear,  certain,  permanent,  and  increas- 
ing the  fund  should  be,  the  lower  would  be  the  rate  of  in- 
terest." He  objected  to  the  proposed  impost,  on  the 
ground  that  an  advalorem  estimation  is  arbitrary,  and  sug- 
gested that  a  tax  might  be  laid  upon  exports,  "  which,  with- 
out being  burdensome,  would  still  be  productive."  He 
concurred  in  the  objections  which  Hamilton  had  made  as 
to  the  estimate  of  land  as  a  measure  of  contribution — point- 
ed out  its  unavoidable  inequality — proposed,  as  a  mode  of 
terminating  all  existing  accounts,  that  the  whole  sum  paid 
or  expended  by  each  state  for  the  public  service  should  be 
placed  to  the  credit  of  such  state,  and  that  each  should 
draw  interest  on  such  sum  ;  and  in  lieu  of  the  five  per 
cent,  impost  would  have  substituted  a  tariff.  This  letter 
was  referred  ;  but  its  views  did  not  prevail,  and  on  the 
eighteenth  of  March  a  report  was  made  to  the  house.  Fear- 
ing that  the  proposed  revenues  would  prove  inadequate  to 
their  object,  a  proposition  was  offered  by  Wilson,  which 
was  seconded  by  Hamilton,  for  a  small  tax  on  all  located 
and  surveyed  lands  ;  but  it  was  rejected,  four  states  voting 
in  favour  of  it. 

The  report  invited  the  states  to  confer  on  congress  the 
power  of  levying  for  the  use  of  the  United  States  specific 
duties  on  certain  enumerated  imports,  and  a  duty  of  five 
per  cent,  advalorem  upon  all  other  goods,  excepting  arms, 
ammunition,  and  clothing,  or  articles  imported  for  the  use 

23 


178  THELIFEOF 

of  the  United  States,  giving  a  bounty  to  the  exporters  of  a 
few  articles  of  American  production.*  It  provided  that 
the  duties  should  be  applied  only  to  the  discharge  of  the 
interest  or  principal  of  the  debts  contracted  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  war,  and  to  be  continued  twenty-five  years. 
The  collectors  to  be  appointed  by  the  states,  but  removable 
by,  and  amenable  to,  congress  alone  ;  and  that  if  no  ap- 
pointment should  be  made  by  a  state  within  a  limited  time, 
that  then  the  appointment  should  be  made  by  congress. 

It  recommended  also  supplementary  funds  of  such  a  na- 
ture "  as  the  states"  may  respectively  judge  most  convenient, 
to  be  levied  for  a  term  of  twenty-five  years ;  to  be  carried 
to  the  separate  credit  of  the  states  within  which  they  shall 
be  collected ;  to  be  liquidated  and  adjusted  among  the  states 
according  to  the  quotas  allotted  to  them,  accounting  annu- 
ally to  each  for  the  proceeds  and  application  of  these  funds. 
It  promised  equitable  allowances  to  the  states  according 
to  their  peculiar  circumstances,  in  pursuance  of,  though 
partly  deviating  from,  Hamilton's  motion  of  the  fourth 
of  March,  then  rejected.  It  proposed  to  ASSUME,  with  a 
view  to  a  more  amicable,  complete  adjustment  of  all  ac- 
counts between  the  United  States  and  individual  states, 
all  reasonable  expenses  incurred  by  the  states  ivithout  the 
sanction  of  congress,  in  their  defence  against  or  attacks 
upon  British  or  savage  enemies  either  by  sea  or  land, 
and  which  shall  be  supported  by  satisfactory  proofs,  and 
declared  that  they  "  shall  be  considered  as  part  of  the  com- 
mon charges  incident  to  the  present  war,  and  to  be  allowed 
as  such."f  And  it  suggested  an  amendment  to  the  articles  of 
the  confederation,  so  that  all  public  charges  and  expenses 
should  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury  to  be  sup- 

*  Fish,  beef,  and  pork. 

t  This  part  of  the  report  is  founded  on  a  resolution  of  Madison,  the  origi 
nal  of  which  exists  in  the  state  department,  No.  26,  "  Report  of  Committee  on 
Finance." 


HAMILTON.  179 

plied  by  the  states  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  inhabit- 
ants of 'every  age,  sex,  and  condition,  excepting  Indians  not 
paying  taxes  in  each  state,  according  to  the  laws  of  each 
state,  except  those  of  certain  ages.  The  enumeration  to 
be  made  by  a  triennial  census. 

These  resolutions,  when  acceded  to  by  every  state,  were 
to  form  a  compact  irrevocable  without  the  concurrence 
of  all  the  states,  or  by  a  majority  of  states  in  congress. 
Having  contended  in  the  committee  with  earnest  perseve- 
rance against  the  leading  principles  of  this  report — against 
the  limited  term  of  the  grant,  the  nomination  and  appoint- 
ment of  the  collectors  of  the  revenue  by  the  states,  and 
the  entire  omission  of  a  land  tax — Hamilton  brought  for- 
ward a  report,  which  embraced  provisions  to  meet  his 
objections,*  and  which  contained  another  important  fea- 

*  March  20th,  1783.—"  Whereas  congress  did,  on  the  12th  day  of  February 
last,  resolve,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  congress  that  the  establishment  of  ade- 
quate and  permanent  funds,  in  taxes  or  duties  which  shall  operate  generally 
and  on  the  whole  in  just  proportions  throughout  the  United  States,  are  indis- 
pensably necessary  towards  doing  complete  justice  to  the  public  creditors ; 
for  restoring  public  credit,  and  for  providing  for  the  future  exigencies  of  the 
war.  And  whereas  it  is  the  duty  of  congress,  on  whose  faith  the  public 
debts  have  been  contracted  for  the  common  safety,  to  make  every  effort  in 
their  power  for  the  effectual  attainment  of  objects  so  essential  to  the  honour 
and  welfare  of  the  United  States,  relying  on  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  their 
constituents  for  a  compliance  with  their  recommendations  : 

"  Therefore,  resolved,  That  it  be  earnestly  recommended  to  the  several 
states  without  delay  to  pass  laws  for  the  establishment  of  the  following 
funds,  to  be  vested  in  the  United  States,  and  to  be  collected  and  appropriated 
by  their  authority,  provided  that  the  officers  for  the  collection  of  the  said 
funds  shall  be  inhabitants  of  each  state  respectively  in  which  they  reside, 
and  being  nominated  by  congress,  shall  be  approved  and  appointed  by  such 
state,  accountable  to,  and  removable  by,  congress  ;  and  provided,  that  if  after 
any  nomination  being  reported  to  the  state,  the  same  is  not  opposed  or  re- 
jected at  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  the  person  or  persons  so  nomi- 
nated shall  be  deemed  to  be  duly  appointed,  viz  : — A  duty  of  five  per  cent, 
advalorem,  at  the  time  and  place  of  importation,  upon  all  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandises,  of  foreign  growth  and  manufacture,  which  may  be  imported 


180  THE    LIFE    OF 

ture,  that  had  been  suggested  to  congress  in  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty — the  exemption  from  taxation  of  wool 
cards,  cotton  cards,  and  the  wire  for  making  them ;  thus 

into  any  of  the  said  states  from  any  foreign  port,  island,  or  plantation,  except 
arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and  other  articles  imported  on  account  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them,  and  except  wool  cards,  cotton  cards,  and 
wire  for  making  them ;  and  also,  except  the  articles  hereinafter  enumerated, 
the  duty  on  which  shall  be  regulated  according  to  the  specified  rates  hereto 
annexed."  ******  Here  the  duties  specified  in  the  report  were  in- 
sertcd.  "  Also  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  advalorem  on  all  prizes  and  prize 
goods  condemned  in  any  court  of  admiralty  of  this  state  as  lawful  prize.  A 

land  tax,*  at  the  rate  of ninetieths  of  a  dollar  for  every  one  hundred 

acres  of  located  and  surveyed  land.  A  house  tax,  at  the  general  rate  of  half 
a  dollar  for  each  dwelling-house,  (cottages  excepted,)  and  at  the  additional 
rate  of  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  whatever  sum  the  rent  of  said  house  may 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  to  be  calculated  on  the  actual  rent,  when  the  house  is 
rented  ;  and  when  in  the  occupancy  of  the  owner,  on  an  appraised  rent  by 
commissioners  under  oath  appointed  by  the  state  periodically.  The  lot  and 
the  appurtenances,  in  town,  and  in  the  country,  the  out-houses,  garden,  and 
orchard,  to  be  comprehended  with  the  dwelling-house.  The  duties  on  imports 
to  pass  to  the  general  benefit  of  the  United  States  without  credit  for  the  pro- 
ceeds to  any  particular  states  ;  but  the  product  of  the  land  and  house  taxes 
to  be  credited  to  each  state  in  which  they  shall  arise.  Said  funds  to  con- 
tinue till  the  principal  of  the  debt  due  by  the  United  States  at  the  termina- 
tion of  the  present  war  shall  be  finally  discharged. 

"  That  an  estimate  be  transmitted  to  each  state  of  the  amount  of  the  pub- 
lie  debt,  as  far  as  the  same  can  be  ascertained,  and  that  congress  will  invio- 
lably adhere  to  their  resolutions  of  the  16th  day  of  December  last,  respect- 
ing the  appropriation  of  the  funds  which  may  be  granted,  and  the  annual 
transmission  of  the  state  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  proceeds  and  disposition 
of  the  said  funds ;  by  which  all  doubts  and  apprehensions  respecting  the 
perpetuity  of  the  public  debt  may  be  effectually  removed." 

These  resolutions  were  not  to  take  effect  until  acceded  to  by  every  state, 

*  Madison  Papers,  v.  1,  p.  300. — Madison  states  that  "  he  suggested,  as  practicable  objects 
of  a  general  revenue — first,  an  impost  on  trade  ;  secondly,  a  poll  tax,  under  certain  qualifica- 
tions ;  thirdly,  a  land  tax,  under  ditto.  Mr.  Hamilton  suggested  a  house  and  window  tax." 

It  has  been  seen,  ante,  vol.  1,  p.  370,  that  Hamilton  had  proposed,  in  1781,  a  land  and  poll 
tax,  and  that  the  superintendent  of  finance  had  also  suggested  the  same  taxes. — D.  C.  vol.  12, 
p.  226.  That  Hamilton  suggested  "  a  house  and  window  tax,"  is  an  error.  His  list  of  "  ob- 
jects of  taxation"  mentions  dwelling-houses,  rated  according  to  the  number  of  rooms,  with  an 
addition  for  each  room  painted,  or  papered,  or  having  a  marble  chimney-piece,  or  a  stucco 
roof— -or  rated  according  to  the  number  of  hearths — or  to  the  number  of  windows  exceeding 
thru, — different  measures  of  value. 


HAMILTON.  181 

looking  to  the  protection  of  domestic  industry,  of  which, 
with  such  surprising  sagacity,  he  foretold  the  advantages 
in  his  youthful  essays. 

Having  introduced  these  propositions,  which  he  saw 
would  result,  if  adopted,  in  an  essential  invigoration  of  the 
confederacy,  he  moved  a  postponement  of  the  report  of 
the  committee,  in  order  to  bring  forward  his  own  views ; 
but,  though  sustained  by  the  votes  of  Connecticut,  New- 
York,  New-Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  he  was  defeated  by 
those  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
and  of  both  the  Carolinas.* 

The  discussion  of  the  original  report  was  resumed  on 
the  ensuing  day,  when  a  proposition  was  offered  to  com- 
plete that  part  for  raising  a  revenue  by  imposts  ;  but  it 
was  rejected,  sortie  of  the  members  being  unwilling  to 
complete  it  without  embracing  the  supplemental  funds.  A 
motion  was  then  made  to  strike  out  the  land  valuation  as 
the  rule  of  contribution,  which  would  necessarily  be  much 
deferred,  and,  as  proposed  to  be  made  by  the  states,  might 
be  indefinitely  postponed,  and  to  substitute  the  population. 
The  articles  of  confederation,  as  first  reported,  fixed  as  the 
measure  of  taxation  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
states,  exclusive  of  Indians  not  taxed,  which  it  was  also 
proposed  to  establish  as  the  measure  of  representation  ;  a 
proposition  sustained  only  by  the  vote  of  Virginia.  The 
states  in  which  slavery  was  not  tolerated  insisted  that 
freemen  alone  ought  to  have  a  political  voice  ;  the  slave- 


when  they  were  to  form  a  mutual  compact,  irrevocable  by  any  one  state 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  whole,  or  of  a  majority  of  the  states  in 
congress. 

*  4  J.  C.  177. — The  votes  of  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  and  South  Caroli- 
na, were  not  unanimous.  Holten,  of  the  first  state,  voted  for  Hamilton's 
motion ;  Gorham,  Higginson,  and  Osgood,  against  it.  Col.  Bland,  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  for  it ;  Lee,  Madison,  and  Mercer,  against  it.  Rutledge,  of  South 
Carolina,  was  for  it ;  Gervais  and  Izard,  against  it. 


182  THE    LIFE    OP 

holding  states,  that  representation  ought  to  be  apportioned 
to  taxation ;  that  if  slaves  were  computed  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  in  apportioning  the  public  burdens, 
they  ought  also  to  be  counted  in  adjusting  the  scale  of  re- 
presentatives. 

In  this  competition  for  power  the  eastern  states  prevail- 
ed, and  the  land  valuation,  objectionable  as  it  was  known 
to  be,  was  adopted  as-  the  only  alternative  to  escape  this 
perplexing  question.  The  difficulty  of  making  such  a  val- 
uation indicated  a  resort  to  some  other  expedient,  and  the 
idea  was  suggested  of  a  compound  vote  of  freemen  and 
slaves  as  the  basis  of  federal  numbers.  At  first  it  was 
proposed  that  one-half  of  the  number  of  slaves  should  be 
embraced ;  which  being  objected  to  by  the  south,  two- 
thirds  were  proposed ;  for  which  number  New-Hamp- 
shire, Connecticut,  New- York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Delaware,  were  in  the  affirmative,  Rhode  Island  di- 
vided, and  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina, 
in  the  negative. 

The  committee  then  agreed  to  report*  as  the  ratio  of 
contribution,  that  the  whole  number  of  free  inhabitants, 
and  three-fifths  of  all  other  inhabitants  of  every  sex  and 
condition,  except  Indians  not  paying  taxes  in  each  state, 
should  be  computed.  This  proposal  failed.  New-Hamp- 
shire, New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
North  Carolina,  being  in  favour  of  it;  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  and  South  Carolina, 
opposed  to  it.  Owing  to  Hamilton's  absence,  the  vote  of 
New- York  was  lost.  On  the  first  of  April,  he  moved  a 
reconsideration  of  this  question,  and  offered  an  amend- 
ment, by  which  the  apportionment  of  the  expenses  was  to 
be  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  white  and  other 
free  inhabitants  of  every  age,  sex,  and  condition,  including 

»  4  J.  C.  180.— March  28. 


HAMILTON.  183 

tJiose  bound  to  servitude  for  a  term  of  years,  and  three-fifths 
of  all  other  persons  not  comprehended  in  the  foregoing 
description,  except  Indians  not  paying  taxes  in  each  state  ; 
to  be  comprehended  in  a  triennial  census,  and  transmitted 
to  congress.  This  motion  prevailed  by  a  vote  of  all  the 
states,  excepting  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island.  Thus 
the  important  principle  so  long  debated,  as  to  the  rule 
of  contribution  to  all  charges  for  the  common  defence  and 
general  welfare,  was  recommended  as  a  part  of  the  fede- 
ral system. 

This  great  obstacle  being  at  last  removed,  after  con- 
sidering a  report  of  Hamilton  for  the  reduction  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war  department,  and  also  the  measures 
which  have  been  adverted  to  as  to  the  execution  of  the 
treaty,  congress  proceeded  steadfastly  to  the  adjustment 
of  a  revenue  system  ;  the  enumerated  articles,  except  the 
duty  on  salt,  being  retained. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  the  details  having  been  com- 
pleted, an  amendment  was  proposed  which  recommended 
to  the  states  that  had  not  ceded  their  unappropriated 
lands  to  the  United  States,  to  make  such  cessions ;  and  to 
those  which  had  complied  in  part  only  with  the  resolutions 
of  congress,  "  to  revise  and  complete  that  compliance." 
This  amendment  was  adopted,  and  the  act  being  approved 
by  the  vote  of  all  except  four  members,  it  was  referred  to 
Madison,  Ellsworth,  and  Hamilton,  to  prepare  an  explana- 
tory address. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  the  draft  of  a  report  was  introduced, 
giving  an  estimate  of  the  national  debt,*  accompanied  with 
Hamilton's  address  to  Rhode  Island,  with  a  computation  of 

*  The  foreign  debt  was  computed  to  amount  to  $  7,885,085 
Domestic 34,115,290 


Total 42,000,000 

Annual  interest  at  stipulated  rates, 2,415,956 


184  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  yearly  product  of  the  impost,  a  view  of  the  foreign 
loans,  and  with  the  papers  relating  to  the  discontents  of  the 
army.  On  the  following  day  this  report  was  agreed  to. 
It  apologized  for  the  departure  from  "  the  strict  maxims  of 
national  credit,"  which  required  that  "  the  revenue  ought 
manifestly  to  be  coexistent  with  the  object  of  it,"  and  the 
collection  placed  in  every  respect  under  that  authority 
which  was  responsible  for  its  application.  It  also  stated 
the  necessity  of  supplemental  funds,  and  urged  the  impor- 
tance of  the  proposed  change  in  the  mode  of  estimating 
the  ratio  of  contribution  by  the  states.  The  address  closed 
with  an  exhortation  to  the  states  to  fulfil  their  engage- 
ments, and  reproved,  in  marked  terms,  the  idea  of  a  dis- 
crimination between  the  original  holders  of  the  debt  and 
purchasers.  It  was  from  the  pen  of  Madison.  On  the 
final  question  as  to  the  revenue  system,  Hamilton,  with 
Higginson  and  the  members  from  Rhode  Island,  voted  in 
the  negative.  He  deemed  it  important  to  give  an  expla- 
nation to  the  state  of  New- York  of  his  course  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  of  the  reasons  of  his  opposition.  With  this  view 
he  wrote  the  following  letter. 


HAMILTON  TO  GOVERNOR  CLINTON. 

Philadelphia,  May  14,  1783. 

The  president  of  congress  will  of  course  have  transmit- 
ted to  your  excellency  the  plan  lately  adopted  by  congress 
for  funding  the  public  debt.  This  plan  was  framed  to  ac- 
commodate it  to  the  objections  of  some  of  the  states ;  but 
this  spirit  of  accommodation  will  only  serve  to  render  it 
less  efficient,  without  making  it  more  palatable.  The  op- 
position of  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  for  instance,  is  chiefly 
founded  upon  these  two  considerations :  the  merchants  are 
opposed  to  any  revenue  from  trade  ;  and  the  state,  depend- 


HAMILTON.  185 

ing  almost  wholly  on  commerce,  wants  to  have  credit  for 
the  amount  of  the  duties. 

Persuaded  that  the  plan  now  proposed  will  have  little 
more  chance  of  success  than  a  better  one,  and  that  if  agreed 
to  by  all  the  states  it  will  in  a  great  measure  fail  in  the 
execution,  it  received  my  negative. 

My  principal  objections  were — First,  that  it  does  not  de- 
signate the  funds  (except  the  impost)  on  which  the  whole 
interest  is  to  arise ;  and  by  which  (selecting  the  capital 
articles  of  visible  property)  the  collection  would  have  been 
easy,  the  funds  productive,  and  necessarily  increasing  with 
the  increase  of  the  country.  Secondly,  that  the  dura- 
tion of  the  funds  is  not  coextensive  with  the  debt,  but 
limited  to  twenty-five  years,  though  there  is  a  moral  cer- 
tainty that  in  that  period  the  principal  will  not,  by  the 
present  provision,  be  fairly  extinguished.  Thirdly,  that 
the  nomination  and  appointment  of  the  collectors  of 
the  revenue  are  to  reside  in  each  state,  instead  of,  at 
least,  the  nomination  being  in  the  United  States ;  the 
consequence  of  which  will  be,  that  those  states  which 
have  little  interest  in  the  funds,  by  having  a  small  share  of 
the  public  debt  due  to  their  own  citizens,  will  take  care  to 
appoint  such  persons  as  are  the  least  likely  to  collect  the 
revenue. 

The  evils  resulting  from  these  defects  will  be,  that  in 
many  instances  the  objects  of  the  revenue  will  be  impro- 
perly chosen,  and  will  consist  of  a  multitude  of  little  articles, 
which  will,  on  experiment,  prove  insufficient;  that,  for 
want  of  a  vigorous  collection  in  each  state,  the  revenue 
will  be  unproductive  in  many,  and  will  fall  chiefly  on  those 
states  which  are  governed  by  most  liberal  principles ;  that 
for  want  of  an  adequate  security,  the  evidences  of  the  pub- 
lic debt  will  not  be  transferable  for  any  thing  like  their 
value.  That  this  not  admitting  an  incorporation  of  the 
creditors  in  the  nature  of  banks,  will  deprive  the  public  of 

24 


186  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  benefit  of  an  increased  circulation,  and  of  course  will 
disable  the  people  from  paying  the  taxes  for  want  of  a 
sufficient  medium.  I  shall  be  happy  to  be  mistaken  in  my 
apprehensions,  but  the  experiment  must  determine. 

I  hope  our  state  will  consent  to  the  plan  proposed  ;  be- 
cause it  is  her  interest,  at  all  events,  to  promote  the  pay- 
ment of  the  public  debt  in  continental  funds,  independent 
of  the  general  considerations  of  union  and  propriety.  I 
am  much  mistaken  if  the  debts  due  from  the  United  States 
to  the  citizens  of  the  state  of  New- York  do  not  consider- 
ably exceed  its  proportion  of  the  necessary  funds ;  of  course 
it  has  an  immediate  interest  that  there  should  be  a  continen- 
tal provision  for  them.  But  there  are  superior  motives 
that  ought  to  operate  in  every  state — the  obligations  of 
national  faith,  honour,  and  reputation. 

Individuals  have  been  too  long  already  sacrificed  to  the 
public  convenience.  It  will  be  shocking,  and,  indeed,  an 
eternal  reproach  to  this  country,  if  we  begin  the  peaceable 
enjoyment  of  our  independence  by  a  violation  of  all  the 
principles  of  honesty  and  true  policy. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  at  least  four-fifths  of  the 
domestic  debt  are  due  to  the  citizens  of  the  states  from 
Pennsylvania  inclusively  northward. 

P.  S. — It  is  particularly  interesting  that  the  state  should 
have  a  representation  here.  Not  only  many  matters  are 
depending  which  require  a  full  representation  in  congress, 
and  there  is  now  a  thin  one,  but  those  matters  are  of  a  na- 
ture so  particularly  interesting  to  our  state  that  we  ought 
not  to  be  without  a  voice  in  them.  I  wish  two  other  gen- 
tlemen of  the  delegation  may  appear  as  soon  as  possible,  for 
it  would  be  very  injurious  to  me  to  remain  much  longer. 
Having  no  future  views  in  public  life,  I  owe  it  to  myself 
without  delay  to  enter  upon  the  care  of  my  private  con- 
cerns in  earnest. 


HAMILTON.  187 

It  is  difficult,  looking  merely  at  the  force  of  the  reasoning 
in  favour  of  his  views,  to  comprehend,  at  this  time,  how 
any  hesitation  could  have  existed  as  to  the  system  to  be 
preferred. 

The  objections  to  that  proposed  by  congress  are  so  ob- 
vious, and  the  consequences  of  attempting  to  carry  it  into 
effect  were  so  certain,  that  it  cannot  be  matter  of  surprise 
that  Hamilton  regarded  it  as  an  attempt  which  would,  "  in 
a  great  measure,  fail  in  the  execution."  But  notwithstand- 
ing, true  to  those  principles  of  action  which  governed 
his  whole  career,  it  is  to  be  remarked  in  this  letter  how  en- 
tirely his  mind  rose  above  all  sense  of  defeat,  and  with 
what  unreserved  and  earnest  interest  he  urged  the  adop- 
tion of  a  measure,  not  such  as  he  desiredt  but  as  the  best 
which,  after  every  exertion  to  amend  it,  that  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  superintendent  of 
finance  had  intimated  to  congress  his  intention  to  resign. 
In  the  disposition  which  then  existed  to  cast  reproach  up- 
on that  most  valuable  officer,  this  purpose  had  been  mis- 
represented, and  attempts  were  made  to  induce  the  belief 
that  his  sole  object  was  to  embarrass  the  operations  of  gov- 
ernment. 

On  the  passage  of  the  revenue  bill,  a  committee,  of 
which  Hamilton  was  a  member,  was  appointed  to  confer 
with  him.  After  a  full  exposition  of  the  motives  which 
had  influenced  him,  which  were,  "  the  continued  refusal  of 
congress  to  make  an  effectual  provision  for  the  public 
debts,"  and  from  which  he  saw  that  his  administration  would 
probably  end  in  disgrace,  and  with  the  complete  overthrow 
of  the  national  credit  and  ruin  of  his  private  fortune,  he 
consented  to  retain  his  place.  That  body  then  passed  a 
resolution  "  that  the  public  service  required  his  continuance 
in  office  until  the  reduction  of  the  army,  and  the  comple- 
tion of  the  financial  arrangements  connected  with  it." 


188  THE    LIFE    OF 

It  has  been  perceived  that  at  an  early  stage  of  the  dis- 
cussions as  to  revenue,  Hamilton  had  sought  to  open  the 
doors  of  congress.  As  peace  had  not  yet  been  concluded, 
his  proposal  at  that  time  was  of  a  limited  nature.  The 
termination  of  hostilities  no  longer  afforded  a  reason  for 
secret  proceedings,  while  the  course  of  the  recent  discus- 
sions the  more  convinced  him  of  the  great  importance  of 
their  deliberations  being  public.  To  effect  this,  a  resolu- 
tion was  offered,*  which  he  seconded,  declaring  that  open 
debate  should  be  the  rule  of  the  house,  and  secrecy  the  ex- 
ception. This  proposed  change  was  founded  on  a  decla- 
ration "  of  the  importance,  in  every  free  country,  that  the 

conduct  and  sentiments  of  those  to  whom  the  direction  of 

• 

public  affairs  is  committed,  should  be  publicly  known."  A 
motion  to  postpone  this  question — connected  with  an  assu- 
rance that  when  congress  should  have  a  fixed  place  of  resi- 
dence, uninfluenced  by  any  particular  state,  that  then  this 
principle  should  be  adopted — was  rejected,  and  the  main 
proposition  was  negatived  by  a  large  majority,  f  Immedi- 
ately after  the  passage  of  the  revenue  act,  Hamilton  devo- 
ted his  attention  to  his  duties  as  chairman  of  the  military 
committee.  On  the  first  of  May  he  submitted  a  report 
for  the  reduction  of  the  corps  of  invalids.  Itsprovided  full 
pay  for  life  to  all  seriously  disabled  officers ;  directing  the 
establishment  of  an  hospital  for  all  the  non-commissioned 
officers  and  soldiers  who  were  proper  subjects  for  it,  to  be 
supported  for  life,  granting  to  them  in  the  mean  time  their 
rations  and  clothing,  and  entitling  them  to  participate  in 
any  other  beneficiary  provisions  which  might  be  made  for 
the  army.  Hitherto  the  army  had  only  received  an  assu- 
rance of  present  pay.  The  financier  was  without  funds, 
and  no  early  revenue  from  taxes  was  to  be  anticipated.  The 


*  By  James  Wilson. 

t  The  affirmatives  were,  Bland,  Fitzsimmons,  Gorham,  Hamilton,  Wilson. 


HAMILTON.  189 

only  resources  were  a  compliance  with  the  late  requisition 
and  a  loan.  On  the  second  of  May,  Hamilton  brought  for- 
ward a  resolution  on  these  subjects. 

It  recited  "  the  indispensable  necessity  of  making  the 
army,  when  reduced,  an  advance  of  pay  before  they  leave 
the  field ;  and  as  there  are  many  other  engagements  for 
which  the  public  faith  is  pledged,  that  the  states  be  called 
upon,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  to  make  every  effort  for 
the  collection  of  taxes  ;  and  that  congress  confidently  rely, 
for  an  immediate  and  efficacious  attention  to  the  present 
requisition,  upon  the  disposition  of  their  constituents,  not 
only  to  do  justice  to  those  brave  men  who  have  suffered 
and  sacrificed  so  much  in  the  cause  of  their  country, 
and  whose  distresses  must  be  extreme,  should  they  be 
sent  from  the  field  without  a  payment  of  a  part  of 
their  well-earned  dues ;  but  also  to  enable  congress  to 
maintain  the  faith  and  reputation  of  the  United  States, 
both  which  are  seriously  concerned  in  relieving  the  neces- 
sities of  a  meritorious  army  and  fulfilling  the  public  stipu- 
lations. That  the  superintendent  of  finance  be  directed  to 
make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  carrying  the  views 
of  congress  into  execution ;  and  that  he  be  assured  of  their 
firm  support  towards  fulfilling  the  engagements  he  has 
already  taken  or  may  take  on  the  public  account  during 
his  continuance  in  office ;  and  that  a  further  application 
should  be  made  to  the  king  of  France  for  an  additional 
loan  of  three  millions  of  livres." 

Anxious  that  no  effort  should  be  omitted  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  pledges  given  by  congress  to  apportion  to  the 
troops  specific  quantities  of  land,  he  prepared  a  resolution 
"  that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  consider  of  the 
best  manner  qf  carrying  into  execution  the  engagements 
of  the  United  States  for  certain  allowances  of  land  to  the 
army  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war."  This  subject  was 
referred  to  a  grand  committee,  bv  which,  after  frequent 


190  THE    LIFE    OF 

deliberations,  a  report  framed  by  Hamilton  was  adopted, 
which  declared  that  until  the  lands  should  be  located  and 
surveyed,  that  certificates  should  be  given  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  as  evidences  of  their  claims,  and  also  to  the 
representatives  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  service. 
The  apprehensions  which  Washington  had  expressed  of 
the  excited  feelings  of  the  army  were  strongly  participated 
in  by  congress,  and  a  resolution  was  offered  to  discharge 
that  part  of  it  which  had  been  enlisted  during  the  war. 

Hamilton's  failure  to  establish*  the  immediate  execution 
of  the  provisional  articles,  induced  him  to  propose  a  cau- 
tionary substitute.  The  commander-in-chief  was  instruct- 
ed to  grant  furloughs  to  the  soldiers  enlisted  for  the  war, 
with  an  assurance  of  their  discharge  on  the  conclusion  of 
the  definitive  treaty,  and  that  measures  would  be  taken 
that  they  should  be  conducted  to  their  homes  in  a  manner 
most  convenient  to  themselves,  and  to  the  states  through 
which  they  may  pass,  and  should  "  be  allowed  to  take  their 
arms  with  them  ;"f  a  deserved  tribute,  which  had  been 
suggested  in  the  camp. 

The  dissatisfaction  of  the  troops  was  a  subject  of  con- 
stant solicitude  to  Washington.  He  addressed  congress 
on  the  subject.  Hamilton  moved  that  a  copy  of  his  letter 
should  be  transmitted  to  the  states,  and  that  they  should 
be  urged  to  facilitate  the  punctual  payment  of  the  notes 
issued  to  the  army.  So  constant  and  pressing  were  the 
calls  of  congress,  and  such  the  remissness  of  the  states. 

Hamilton  now  directed  his  attention  to  the  removal  of 
all  obstacles  to  the  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  to  measures 
for  the  security  of  the  frontiers. 

In  reference  to  the  first  object,  he  proposed  a  remon- 
strance J  to  the  British  government  as  to  the  deportation 
of  the  negroes,  asking  reparation  for  the  injury.  While 

*  May  28.  t  4  J.  C.  224.  t  May  30. 


HAMILTON.  191 

demanding  of  England  the  fulfilment  of  her  engagements, 
he  was  the  more  anxious  to  provide  against  any  infractions 
by  the  United  States ;  and  with  this  view  he  introduced  a 
report,  which  was  followed  by  an  important  resolution. 
This  resolution  required  the  removal  of  all  obstructions  by 
the  states  to  the  recovery  of  debts ;  the  restitution  of  all 
confiscated  property  on  receiving  an  equivalent ;  and  the 
discontinuance  of  all  confiscations,  as  due  "  to  that  spirit 
of  moderation  and  liberality  which  ought  ever  to  charac- 
terize the  deliberations  and  measures  of  a  free  and  enlight- 
ened nation."  Previous  mention  has  been  made  of  the 
different  views  of  other  leading  individuals.  They  are 
strongly  shown  in  the  report  of  Madison  to  the  preceding 
congress,  on  the  terms  of  a  treaty  with  England. 

The  violence  already  displayed  by  the  citizens  of  New- 
York  towards  the  tories,  and  the  unwise  legislation  of  that 
state,  probably  induced  Hamilton's  early  attention  to  this 
subject.  On  a  division  of  the  house,  he  alone  voted* 
against  the  commitment  of  the  report,  so  urgent  was  his 
sense  of  the  policy  and  duty  of  fulfilling  the  provisional 
articles.  Immediately  after  this  vote,  resolutions  of  Vir- 
ginia of  the  seventeenth  December  previous,  directing  the 
commissioners  at  Paris  "  neither  to  agree  to  any  restitution 
of  property  confiscated  by  the  state,  nor  to  submit  that  the 
laws  made  by  any  independent  state  of  this  union  be  sub- 
jected to  the  adjudication  of  any  power  or  powers  on  earth," 
were  considered.  These  resolutions,  if  regarded,  would  have 
prevented  the  conclusion  of  that  article  of  the  preliminary 
treaty,  which  provided  against  any  lawful  impediment  be- 
ing interposed  to  the  creditors  on  either  side  recovering  the 
full  value,  in  sterling  money,  of  all  bona  fide  debts  contract- 
ed before  the  war.  Congress  resolvedf  that  this  stipulation 


*  1  Mad.  456. — Madison  says,  "  the  report  being  finally  committed  nem. 
<wn;"  but  see  4  J.  C.  p.  225,  and  3  S.  J.  p.  358.  t  May  30. 


192  THE   LIFE   OF 

could  not  be  retracted  "  without  a  violation  of  the  national 
faith,  and  that  the  honour  and  interest  of  these  United 
States  require  it  should  be  substantially  complied  with." 
At  the  instance  of  Pennsylvania,  a  resolution  was  passed 
on  the  same  day  instructing  the  negotiators  to  endeavour 
to  amend  the  treaty  so  as  to  defer  any  execution  for  debts 
contracted  previous  to  the  war  for  a  period  of  three  years, 
and  declaring  their  opinion  that  demands  for  interest  accru- 
ing during  the  war  would  be  highly  inequitable  and  unjust. 
Apprehensive  lest  the  acts  which  had  already  taken 
place  might  prevent  the  conclusion  of  the  definitive  treaty, 
after  the  interval  of  a  day  Hamilton  wrote  to  Clinton  re- 
capitulatiug  the  general  arguments  in  favour  of  clemency, 
and  enforcing  them  by  a  view  of  the  peculiar  and  strong 
interests  of  the  state  he  represented. 

HAMILTON  TO  GOVERNOR  CLINTON. 

Philadelphia,  June  1,  1783.     ' 
SIR, 

In  my  last  letter  to  your  excellency,  I  took  occasion  to 
mention  that  it  was  of  great  importance  to  the  state,  at 
this  time,  to  have  a  representation  here,  as  points  in  which, 
by  its  present  situation,  it  is  particularly  interested,  are 
daily  and  will  be  daily  agitated.  It  is  also  of  importance 
at  this  moment  to  the  United  States,  not  only  from  general 
considerations,  but  because  we  have  a  very  thin  represen- 
tation in  congress,  and  are  frequently  unable  to  transact 
any  of  those  matters  which  require  nine  states.  I  wish 
your  excellency  would  urge  two  gentlemen  to  come  on, 
as  it  becomes  highly  inconvenient  to  me  to  remain  here, 
and  as  I  have  staid  the  full  time  to  be  expected. 

I  observe  with  great  regret  the  intemperate  proceed- 
ings among  the  people  in  different  parts  of  the  state ;  in 
violation  of  a  treaty,  the  faithful  observance  of  which  so 


HAMILTON.  193 

deeply  interests  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Surely, 
the  state  of  New- York,  with  its  capital  and  its  frontier 
posts  (on  which  its  important  fur  trade  depends)  in  the 
hands  of  the  British  troops,  ought  to  take  care  that  noth- 
ing is  done  to  furnish  a  pretext  on  the  other  side,  even  for 
delaying,  much  less  for  resisting  the  execution  of  the  trea- 
ty. We  may  imagine  that  the  situation  of  Great  Britain 
puts  her  under  the  necessity,  at  all  events,  of  fulfilling  her 
engagements,  and  cultivating  the  good-will  of  this  country. 
This  is,  no  doubt,  her  true  policy ;  but  when  we  feel  that 
passions  make  us  depart  from  the  true  dictates  of  reason — 
when  we  have  seen  that  passion  has  had  so  much  influence 
in  the  conduct  of  the  British  in  the  whole  course  of  the 
war — when  we  recollect  that  those  who  govern  them  are 
men  like  ourselves,  and  alike  subject  to  passions  and  re- 
sentments— when  we  reflect,  also,  that  all  the  great  men 
in  England  are  not  united  in  the  liberal  scheme  of  policy 
with  respect  to  this  country,  and  that  in  the  anarchy 
which  prevails,  there  is  no  knowing  to  whom  the  reins  of 
government  may  be  committed — when  we  recollect  how 
little  in  a  condition  we  are  to  enforce  a  compliance  with 
our  claims — we  ought  certainly  to  be  cautious  in  what 
manner  we  act,  especially  when  we  in  particular  have  so 
much  at  stake,  and  should  not  openly  provoke  a  breach  of 
faith  on  the  other  side  by  setting  the  example. 

An  important  distinction  is  not  sufficiently  attended  to. 
The  fifth  article  is  recommendatory ;  the  sixth  positive, — 
there  is  no  option  on  the  part  of  the  particular  states,  as 
to  any  future  confiscations,  persecutions,  or  injuries  of  any 
kind,  to  person,  liberty,  or  property,  on  account  of  any 
thing  done  in  the  war.  It  is  matter  of  discretion  in  the 
states,  whether  they  will  comply  with  the  recommenda- 
tions contained  in  the  fifth  article ;  but  no  part  of  the  sixth 
can  be  departed  from  by  them,  without  a  direct  breach 
of  public  faith  and  of  the  confederation.  The  power 

25 


194  THE   LIFE   OF 

of  making  treaties,  is  exclusively  lodged  in  congress.  That 
power  includes  whatever  is  essential  to  the  termination  of 
the  war  and  to  the  preservation  of  the  general  safety. 
Indemnity  to  individuals  in  similar  cases,  is  an  usual  stipu- 
lation in  treaties  of  peace,  of  which  many  precedents  are 
to  be  produced. 

Should  it  be  said  that  the  associations  of  the  people 
without  legal  authority  do  not  amount  to  a  breach  of  the 
public  faith ;  the  answer  is,  if  the  government  does  not 
redress  them,  and  prevent  their  having  this  effect,  it  is  as 
much  a  breach  as  a  formal  refusal  to  comply  on  its  part. 
In  the  eye  of  a  foreign  nation,  if  our  engagements  are  bro- 
ken, it  is  of  no  moment  whether  it  is  for  the  want  of  good 
intention  in  the  government  or  for  want  of  power  to  re- 
strain its  subjects.  Suppose  a  violence  committed  by  an 
American  vessel  on  the  vessel  of  another  nation  upon  the 
high  seas ;  and,  after  complaint  made,  there  is  no  redress 
given,  is  not  this  an  hostility  against  the  injured  nation, 
which  will  justify  reprisals  ? 

But,  if  I  am  not  misinformed,  there  are  violations  going 
on  in  form  of  law.  I  am  told  that  indictments  continue  to 
be  brought  under  the  former  confiscation  laws,  in  palpable 
infraction,  if  true,  of  the  sixth  article  of  the  treaty ;  to 
which  an  immediate  stop  ought,  no  doubt,  to  be  put. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  men  that  the  operation  of  this 
treaty  is  suspended  till  the  definitive  treaty :  a  plain  sub- 
terfuge.* Whatever  is  clearly  expressed  in  the  provision- 
al or  preliminary  treaty,  is  as  binding  from  the  moment  it 
is  made  as  the  definitive  treaty,  which  in  fact  only  de- 

*  Madison  Papers,  vol.  1,  p.  444.  Yet  Madison  says,  "  Mr.  Hamilton  ac- 
knowledged that  he  began  to  view  the  obligation  of  the  provisional  treaty  in 
a  different  light,  and  hi  consequence,  wished  to  vary  the  direction  of  the 
commander-in.chief  from  a  positive  to  a  preparatory  one ;  as  his  motion  on 
the  Journal  states." — The  real  motive  to  that  proposed  variance  has  been  suf. 
ficiently  shown. 


HAMILTON.  195 

velops,  explains,  and  fixes  more  precisely  what  may  have 
been  too  generally  expressed  in  the  former.  Suppose  the 
British  should  now  send  away  not  only  the  negroes,  but 
all  other  property,  and  all  the  public  records  in  their  pos- 
session belonging  to  us,  on  the  pretence  above  stated; 
should  we  not  justly  accuse  them  with  breaking  faith  ?  Is 
not  this  already  done  in  the  case  of  the  negroes  who  have 
been  carried  away,  though  founded  upon  a  very  different 
principle,  a  doubtful  construction  of  the  treaty,  not  a  de- 
nial of  its  immediate  operation.  In  fine,  is  it  our  interest  to 
advance  this  doctrine,  and  to  countenance  the  position, 
that  nothing  is  binding  till  the  definitive  treaty,  when  there 
are  examples  of  years  intervening  between  preliminary 
and  definitive  treaties  ? 

Sir  Guy  Carleton  in  his  correspondence  has  appeared  to 
consider  the  treaty  as  immediately  obligatory,  and  it  has 
been  the  policy  which  I  have  preferred,  to  promote  the 
same  idea.  I  am  not  indeed  apprehensive  of  a  renewal  of 
the  war,  for  peace  is  necessary  to  Great  Britain  ;  I  think 
it  also  most  probable  her  disposition  to  conciliate  this  coun- 
try will  outweigh  the  resentments  which  a  breach  of  our 
engagements  is  calculated  to  inspire.  But  with  a  treaty 
which  has  exceeded  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine,  which 
in  the  articles  of  boundary  and  of  the  fisheries  is  even  bet- 
ter than  we  asked,  circumstanced  as  this  country  is  with  re- 
spect to  the  means  of  making  war,  I  think  it  the  height  of 
imprudence  to  run  any  risk.  Great  Britain,  without  re- 
commencing hostilities,  may  evade  parts  of  the  treaty. 
She  may  keep  possession  of  the  frontier  posts.  She  may 
obstruct  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  fisheries.  She  may  be 
indisposed  to  such  extensive  concessions  in  matters  of  com- 
merce as  it  is  our  interest  to  aim  at.  In  all  this  she  would 
find  no  opposition  from  any  foreign  power,  and  we  are 
not  in  a  condition  to  oblige  her  to  any  thing. 

If  we  imagine  that  France,  obviously  embarrassed  her- 


196  THE    LIFE    OF 

self  in  her  finances,  would  renew  the  war  to  oblige  Great 
Britain  to  the  restoration  of  our  frontier  posts,  or  to  a 
compliance  with  the  stipulations  respecting  the  fisheries, 
(especially  after  a  manifest  breach  of  the  treaty  on  our 
part,)  we  speculate  much  at  random.  Observations  might 
be  made  on  the  last  article  which  would  prove  that  it  is 
not  the  policy  of  France  to  support  our  interests  there. 

Are  we  prepared,  for  the  mere  gratification  of  our  re- 
sentments, to  put  these  great  national  objects  at  hazard — to 
leave  our  western  frontier  in  a  state  of  insecurity — to  re- 
linquish the  fur  trade,  and  to  abridge  our  pretensions  to 
the  fisheries? 

Do  we  think  national  character  so  light  a  thing,  as  to  be 
willing  to  sacrifice  the  public  faith  to  individual  animosity  ? 
Let  the  case  be  fairly  stated.  Great  Britain  and  Ameri- 
ca, two  independent  nations  at  war — the  former  in  pos- 
session of  considerable  posts  and  districts  of  territory  be- 
longing to  the  latter,  and  also  of  the  means  of  obstructing 
certain  commercial  advantages  in  which  it  is  deeply  inter- 
ested. 

It  is  not  uncommon  in  treaties  of  peace  for  the  uti  possi- 
detis  to  take  place.  Great  Britain,  however,  in  the  present 
instance  stipulates  to  restore  all  our  posts  or  territory  in 
her  possession.  She  even  adds  an  extent  not  within  our 
original  limits,  more  than  a  compensation  for  a  small  part 
ceded  in  another  quarter.  She  agrees  to  readmit  us  to  a 
participation  in  the  fisheries.  What  equivalent  do  we 
give  for  this  ?  Congress  are  to  recommend  the  restora- 
tion of  property  to  those  who  have  adhered  to  her,  and 
expressly  engage  that  no  future  injury  shall  be  done  them 
in  person,  liberty,  or  property. 

This  is  the  sole  condition  on  our  part  where  there  is  not 
an  immediate  reciprocity,  (the  recovery  of  debts  and  liber- 
ation of  prisoners  being  mutual ;)  the  former  indeed  is  only 
declaring  what  the  rights  of  private  faith,  which  all  civil- 


HAMILTON.  197 

ized  nations  hold  sacred,  would  have  dictated  without  it, 
and  stands  as  the  single  equivalent  for  all  the  restitutions 
and  concessions  to  be  made  by  Great  Britain.  Will  it  be 
honest  in  us  to  violate  this  condition,  or  will  it  be  prudent 
to  put  it  in  competition  with  all  the  important  matters  to 
be  performed  on  the  other  side  ?  Will  foreign  nations  be 
willing  to  undertake  any  thing  with  us  or  for  us,  when 
they  find  that  the  nature  of  our  government  will  allow  no 
dependance  to  be  placed  upon  our  engagements  ? 

I  have  omitted  saying  any  thing  of  the  impolicy  of  in- 
ducing, by  our  severity,  a  great  number  of  useful  citizens, 
whose  situations  do  not  make  them  a  proper  object  of  re- 
sentment, to  abandon  the  country,  to  form  settlements  that 
will  hereafter  become  our  rivals,  animated  with  a  hatred  to 
us  which  will  descend  to  their  posterity.  Nothing,  however, 
can  be  more  unwise  than  to  contribute,  as  we  are  doing,  to 
people  the  shores  and  wilderness  of  Nova  Scotia,  a  colony, 
which,  by  its  position,  will  become  a  competitor  with  us, 
among  other  things,  in  that  branch  of  commerce  on  which 
our  navigation  and  navy  will  essentially  depend — I  mean 
the  fisheries,  in  which  I  have  no  doubt  the  state  of  New 
York  will  hereafter  have  a  considerable  share. 

To  your  excellency  I  freely  deliver  my  sentiments,  be- 
cause I  am  persuaded  you  cannot  be  a  stranger  to  the 
force  of  these  considerations.  I  fear  not  even  to  hazard 
them  to  the  justice  and  good  sense  of  those  I  have  the  hon- 
our to  represent.  I  esteem  it  my  duty  to  do  it,  because  the 
question  is  important  to  the  interests  of  the  state,  in  its  re- 
lation to  the  United  States. 

Those  who  consult  only  their  passions,  might  choose  to 
construe  what  I  say  as  too  favourable  to  a  set  of  men  who 
have  been  the  enemies  of  the  public  liberty  ;  but  those  for 
whose  esteem  I  am  most  concerned,  will  acquit  me  of  any 
personal  considerations,  and  will  perceive  that  I  only  urge 
the  cause  of  national  honour,  safety,  and  advantage.  We 


198  THE    LIFE   OF 

have  assumed  an  independent  station,  we  ought  to  feel  and 
to  act  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  that 
station. 

I  anxiously  wish  to  see  every  prudent  measure  taken  to 
prevent  those  combinations  which  will  certainly  disgrace 
us,  if  they  do  not  involve  us  in  other  calamities.  Whatev- 
er distinctions  are  judged  necessary  to  be  made  in  the 
cases  of  those  persons  who  have  been  in  opposition  to  the 
common  cause,  let  them  be  made  by  legal  authority,  on  a 
fair  construction  of  the  treaty,  consistent  with  national 
faith  and  national  honour. 

P.  S. — Your  excellency  will  have  been  informed  that 
congress  have  instructed  General  Washington  to  garrison 
the  frontier  posts,  when  surrendered,  with  the  three  years 
continental  troops.  This  is  more  for  the  interest  of  the 
state  than  to  have  them  garrisoned  at  its  particular  ex- 
pense ;  and  I  should  wish  that  permanent  provision  might 
be  made  on  the  same  principles.  I  wait  to  see  whether 
any  continental  peace  establishment  for  garrisons  will  take 
place,  before  I  engage  the  consent  of  congress  to  a  sepa- 
rate provision.  I  cannot  forbear  adding  a  word  on  the 
subject  of  money.  The  only  reliance  we  now  have  for 
redeeming  a  large  anticipation  on  the  public  credit,  already 
made  and  making  for  the  benefit  of  the  army,  is  on  the  tax- 
es coming  in.  The  collection  hitherto  is  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  demand.  It  is  of  vast  consequence  at  this 
juncture  that  every  thing  possible  should  be  done  to  for- 
ward it.  I  forbear  entering  into  details  which  would  be 
very  striking  on  this  subject.  I  will  only  say,  that  unless 
there  is  a  serious  exertion  in  the  states,  public  credit  must 
ere  long  receive  another  shock,  very  disagreeable  in  its 
consequences,  &c. " 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  territorial  controversy  be- 


HAMILTON.  199 

tween  New- York  and  the  people  of  Vermont  had  remain- 
ed, at  the  commencement  of  this  congress,  unadjusted. 
Congress  had  never  acted  with  decision  on  this  subject. 
New-England,  with  the  exception  of  New-Hampshire,  was 
in  favour  of  the  disaffected  party.  Some  of  its  leading  men 
denied  the  right  of  congress  to  interfere ;  most  doubted 
the  expediency.  The  four  states  south  of  New- York  also 
favoured  their  pretensions.  She  was  only  sustained  by 
the  southern  states — jealous  of  the  east — unwilling  to  ad- 
mit into  the  union  another  small  state  to  enjoy  equal  politi- 
cal weight,  and  to  have  a  voice  in  respect  to  their  western 
claims.  But  New- York  entertained  no  doubt  of  her  rights, 
and  looked  with  extreme  jealousy  on  any  interference  with 
them.  Several  individuals  who  acknowledged  their  alle- 
giance to  her  had  been  banished  by  Vermont,  and  their  es- 
tates confiscated.  This  procedure  was  brought  before 
congress  on  the  fifth  of  December,  by  a  resolution  second- 
ed by  Hamilton,  declaring  it  to  be  "  highly  derogatory  to 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  dangerous  to  the 
confederacy ;"  requiring  restitution  of  the  confiscated 
property,  and  pledging  themselves  to  enforce  it.  After 
several  proposed  modifications,  it  passed.  The  only  object 
of  this  resolution  was  to  prevent  hostile  collisions  until 
the  question  of  jurisdiction  should  be  settled,  or  at  least 
until  the  termination  of  the  war.  But  the  enforcement  of 
it  would  be  extremely  difficult  in  a  country  of  mountains 
and  defiles,  by  troops,  most  of  whom  were  from  the  eastern 
states,  and  all  averse  to  such  a  conflict.  When  Hamilton 
proposed  this  resolution,  he  had  recently  taken  his  seat  in 
congress,  and  was  uninformed  of  the  diversity  of  the  views 
entertained  by  its  members  on  this  subject.  As  soon  as 
he  ascertained  the  true  position  of  the  question,  he  wrote 
to  Clinton  suggesting  a  compromise.  The  governor  repli- 
ed that  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  state  was,  that  a  par- 
tial compromise  would  be  improper,  as  congress  had  en- 


200  THE    LIFE    OF 

gaged  to  make  a  final  decision  of  the  controversy.     He 
thought,  however,  that  if  the  summit  of  the   mountains 
should  be  designated  by  them  as  the  boundary,  New- York 
would  submit  to  it  "  for  the  sake  of  peace." 
Hamilton  again  adverted  to  this  subject : — 
"  A  few  days  since  I  was  honoured  with  your  excellen- 
cy's letter  of  the ,  and  was  glad  to  find  your  ideas 

on  the  subject  corresponded  with  mine.  As  I  shall  in  a 
day  or  two  take  leave  of  Congress,  I  think  it  my  duty  to 
give  my  opinion  to  the  legislature  in  a  matter  of  impor- 
tance to  the  state,  which  has  been  long  depending,  and 
is  still  without  a  prospect  of  termination,  in  the .  train  in 
which  it  has  been  placed.  I  mean  the  affair  of  the  grants. 
It  is  hazardous  to  pass  a  positive  judgment  on  what  will 
happen  in  a  body  so  mutable  as  that  of  congress  ;  but  from 
all  I  have  seen,  I  have  come  to  a  settled  opinion,  that  no 
determination  will  be  taken  and  executed  by  them  in  any 
other  manner  than  in  that  prescribed  by  the  confedera- 
tion. There  is  always  such  a  diversity  of  views  and  inter- 
ests, so  many  compromises  to  be  made  between  different 
states,  that  in  a  question  of  this  nature,  the  embarrassments 
of  which  have  been  increased  by  the  steps  that  have  pre- 
ceded, and  in  which  the  passions  of  the  opposite  sides  have 
taken  a  warm  part,  decision  must  be  the  result  of  neces- 
sity. While  congress  have  a  discretion,  they  will  procras- 
tinate ;  when  they  are  bound  by  the  constitution,  they 
must  proceed. 

"  It  is  therefore  my  opinion  that  it  will  be  advisable  for 
the  legislature,  when  they  meet,  to  revive  the  question,  and 
either  to  relinquish  their  pretensions  to  the  country  in  dis- 
pute, or  to  instruct  their  delegates,  if  a  decision  is  not  had 
within  a  limited  time,  to  declare  the  submission  to  con- 
gress revoked,  and  to  institute  a  claim  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  confederation.  It  would  be  out  of  my 
province  to  discuss  which  side  of  the  alternative  ought,  in 


HAMILTON.  201 

policy,  to  prevail ;  but  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  observe, 
that  if  the  last  should  be  preferred,  it  would  be  expedient 
to  remove  every  motive  of  opposition  from  private  claims, 
not  only  by  confirming  in  their  full  latitude,  previous  to  the 
trial,  the  possessions  of  the  original  settlers,  but  even  the 
grants  of  the  usurped  government.  It  may  happen  that  it 
will  be  eventually  necessary  to  employ  force  ;  and  in  this 
case,  it  would  be  of  great  importance  that  neither  the  in- 
habitants of  the  grants,  nor  powerful  individuals  in  other 
states,  should  find  their  private  interest  in  contradiction  to 
that  of  the  state.  This  has  already  had  great  influence  in 
counteracting  our  wishes,  would  continue  to  throw  impedi- 
ments in  the  way  of  ulterior  measures,  and  might  at  last 
kindle  a  serious  flame  between  the  states. 

"  I  communicated  to  your  excellency  in  a  former  letter, 
that  I  had  declined  pressing  the  application  of  the  legisla- 
ture to  congress  respecting  the  state  troops  for  garrison- 
ing the  frontier  posts,  because  temporary  provision  had 
been  made  in  another  way /which  would  save  the  state 
the  immediate  expense  ;  and  because  there  was  a  prospect 
of  some  general  provision  for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers, 
on  a  continental  establishment,  which  was  to  be  preferred 
on  every  account.  A  report  for  this  purpose  is  now  be- 
fore congress,  but  the  thinness  of  the  representation  has  for 
some  time  retarded,  and  still  retards  its  consideration. 
The  definitive  treaty  has  not  yet  arrived,  but  from  accounts 
which,  though  not  official,  appear  to  deserve  credit,  it  may 
daily  be  expected.  A  gentleman  known  and  confided  in 
has  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  who  informs  that  he  saw  a 
letter  from  Dr.  Franklin  to  Mr.  Barkely,  telling  him  that 
the  definitive  treaties  were  signed  the  seventh  of  May,  be- 
tween all  the  parties  ;  that  New  York  was  to  be  evacuated 
in  six  months  from  the  ratification  of  the  preliminaries  in 
Europe,  which  will  be  the  twelfth  or  fifteenth  of  next 
month. 

26 


202  THE    LIFE    OF 

"  As  it  is  not  my  intention  to  return  to  congress,  I  take 
this  opportunity  to  make  my  respectful  acknowledgments 
to  the  legislature,  for  the  honourable  mark  of  confidence 
conferred  upon  me  by  having  chosen  me  to  represent  the 
state  in  that  body.  I  shall  be  happy  if  my  conduct  has 
been  agreeable  to  them." 

During  the  various  progressive  steps  towards  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  national  revenue,  and  the  adjustment  of  the 
claims  of  the  army,  Colonel  Hamilton's  attention  had  also 
been  directed  to  other  matters  of  permanent  interest. 

Soon  after  his  appointment  as  chairman  of  the  military 
committee,  he  took  into  view  a  branch  of  the  service, 
which,  from  the  amount  of  the  expenditure,  its  connection 
with  the  comforts  of  the  army,  and  its  previous  inefficien- 
cy, was  a  subject  of  prominent  importance — the  Quarter- 
master-general's Department. 

The  difficulties  attendant  upon  a  proper  establishment 
for  the  military  supplies,  have  been  frequently  adverted 
to.  While  a  member  of  the  committee  of  co-operation, 
General  Schuyler  had,  after  urging  General  Greene  to  con- 
tinue at  the  head  of  this  department,  strenuously  pressed 
the  adoption  of  a  plan  framed  by  Hamilton,  stating  in  a 
letter  to  congress.  "  that  the  business  should  be  prosecuted 
in  the  most  spirited  manner,  and  upon  the  largest  estimate." 
This  plan  was  not  adopted  ;  frequent  modifications  of  the 
system  were  made,  the  last  on  the  twenty-eighth  October, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-two.  This  drew  from  the 
quartermaster-general  a  letter,  setting  forth  the  necessity 
of  a  change. 

Hamilton  framed  a  new  organization,  gave  to  the  quar- 
termaster-general the  appointment  of  all  the  officers  be- 
longing to  this  department,  designated  them,  defined  their 
compensation,  specified  the  means  of  transportation  to  be 
allotted  to  each  rank  in  the  army,  and  their  respective 


HAMILTON.  203 

forage   and    subsistence,   providing  checks   upon   the  is- 
sues. 

In  consequence  of  a  letter  from  the  president  of  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  respecting  a  peace  with  the  Indians, 
he  framed  a  report  in  which — after  reciting  that  by  the 
ninth  article  of  the  confederation  the  sole  and  exclusive 
right  and  power  of  regulating  the  trade  and  managing  all 
the  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the 
states,  was  in  the  United  States — it  was  declared  that  the 
superintendence  of  Indian  affairs  should  be  annexed  to 
the  department  of  war.  That  there  should  be  an  immedi- 
ate suspension  of  hostilities  with  them,  and  that  four  agents, 
one  for  each  of  four  districts,  embracing  the  eastern,  nor- 
thern, southern,  and  western  Indians,  should  be  appointed 
to  negotiate  treaties.  Lest  the  exercise  of  this  power 
should  be  interpreted  into  a  waiver  of  any  rights,  a  pro- 
viso was  added  that  the  preceding  measures  of  congress 
shall  not  be  construed  to  affect  the  territorial  claims  of  any 
of  the  states,  or  their  legislative  rights,  within  their  re- 
spective limits.* 

He  also,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  peace  ar- 
rangements, sensible  of  the  great  importance  of  arranging 
the  executive  departments,  drew  a  report  in  relation  to  the 
department  of  foreign  affairs,  f 

It  provided  that  the  secretary  of  that  department  should 
be  considered  as  the  head  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  To  re- 
move any  doubts  which  may  have  existed  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  office,  it  was  declared  to  be  his  duty  to  lay  before 
congress  such  plans  for  conducting  the  political  and  com- 
mercial intercourse  of  the  United  States  with  foreign  na- 
tions, as  might  appear  to  him  conducive  to  their  interest. 
He  was  to  be  entitled  to  the  same  salary  and  allowances  as 
were  provided  for  a  minister  at  a  foreign  court,  and  to 

*  April  31.  t  May  8. 


204  THE   LIFE   OP 

have  an  official  secretary  to  be  nominated  by  himself,  to 
receive  the  same  compensation  as  a  secretary  of  an  em- 
bassy. The  compensation  of  each  minister  was  also  spe- 
cified. He  was  to  be  invested  with  consular  powers,  and 
to  be  at  the  same  time  consul-general  in  the  country 
where  he  resided  ;  having  the  control  of  all  vice-consuls 
or  inferior  commercial  agents,  but  not  to  be  at  liberty  to 
engage  directly  or  indirectly  in  any  traffic.  Vice-consuls 
were  to  be  appointed  without  salaries,  but  with  permission 
to  trade. 

The  secretary  of  foreign  affairs,  in  order  to  carry  this 
plan  into  effect,  was  directed  to  prepare  and  lay  before 
congress  an  ordinance  for  regulating  the  consular  powers 
and  privileges,  and  a  plan  of  a  convention  to  be  entered 
into  with  foreign  powers  for  that  purpose. 

A  proposition  was  also  at  this  time  introduced*  which 
has  a  grateful  aspect  amid  the  serious  responsibilities  inci- 
dent to  war. 

During  the  previous  year,  General  Schuyler  offered  a 
resolution  in  the  legislature  of  New- York  to  secure  copy- 
rights to  authors  and  publishers.  A  recommendation  was 
now  made  to  the  states  to  secure  this  right  for  fourteen 
years,  renewable  for  a  similar  term. 

Hamilton  had,  at  an  early  period,  expressed  the  opinion, 
that  in  "  the  existing  constitution  an  army  was  essential  to 
the  American  union."  It  was  not  less  important  as  a  se- 
curity against  foreign  aggression,  than  as  a  necessary  mean 
of  preserving  domestic  tranquillity. 

It  has  been  seen  that  he  had  invited  Washington  to  com- 
municate his  views  as  to  a  peace  establishment.  A  reply 
was  received  from  him,  containing  a  memorial  and  sugges- 
tions from  different  officers  of  the  general  staff,  and  re- 
minding congress  of  the  necessity  of  occupying  the  posts 

*  By  Dr.  H.  Williamson. 


HAMILTON.  205 

the  moment  they  were  evacuated.  In  his  late  letter  to  the 
governor  of  New- York,  Hamilton  had  informed  him  that 
a  report  of  a  plan  for  a  continental  peace  establishment 
was  then  before  them.  The  draft  of  this  report,  in  his 
hand,  exists  among  his  papers.  It  was  prefaced  by  the 
following  important  observations. 

"  Before  any  plan  with  propriety  can  be  determined  for 
a  military  peace  establishment,  it  is  necessary  to  ascertain 
what  powers  exist  for  that  purpose  in  the  confederation. 

**  First — By  the  fourth  clause  of  the  sixth  article  it  is  de- 
clared, that  no  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  by  any  state, 
in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as  shall  be 
deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States,  in  congress  assem- 
bled, for  the  defence  of  such  state  or  its  trade ;  nor  shall 
any  body  of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  state  ,in  time  of 
peace,  except  such  number  only  as  in  the  judgment  of  the 
United  States,  in  congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  re- 
quisite to  garrison  the  posts  necessary  for  the  defence  of 
such  state. 

"  Secondly — By  the  fifth  clause  of  the  ninth  article,  the 
United  States,  in  congress  assembled,  are  empowered  gene- 
rally (and  without  mention  of  peace  or  war)  to  build  and 
equip  a  navy,  to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land  forces, 
and  to  make  requisitions  from  each  state  for  its  quota,  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  white  inhabitants  in  each 
state,  which  requisition  shall  be  binding ;  and  thereupon  the 
legislature  of  each  state  shall  appoint  the  regimental  offi- 
cers, raise  the  men,  and  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them  in  a 
soldier-like  manner,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States ; 
and  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped, 
shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time 
agreed  on  by  the  United  States,  in  congress  assembled. 

"  Thirdly — By  the  fourth  clause  of  the  same  article,  the 
United  States  are  empowered  to  appoint  all  officers  of  the 
land  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  excepting 


206  THE    LIFE   OF 

regimental  officers,  to  appoint  all  officers  of  the  naval 
forces,  and  to  commission  all  officers  whatever  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  making  rules  for  the  govern- 
ment and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval  forces,  and 
directing  their  operations. 

"  It  appears  to  the  committee  that  the  terms  of  the  first 
clause  are  rather  restrictive  on  the  particular  states,  than 
directory  to  the  United  States ;  intended  to  prevent  any 
state  from  keeping  up  forces,  land  or  naval,  without  the 
approbation  and  sanction  of  the  union,  which  might  en- 
danger its  tranquillity  and  harmony,  and  not  to  contravene 
the  positive  power  vested  in  the  United  States  by  the 
subsequent  clauses,  or  to  deprive  them  of  the  right  of 
taking  such  precautions  as  should  appear  to  them  essential 
to  the  general  security.  A  distinction  that  this  is  to  be 
provided  for  in  time  of  war  by  the  forces  of  the  union,  in 
time  of  peace  by  those  of  each  state,  would  involve,  beside 
other  inconveniences,  this  capital  one — that  when  the  forces 
of  the  union  should  become  necessary  to  defend  its  rights, 
and  repel  any  attacks  upon  them,  the  United  States  would 
be  obliged  to  begin  to  create,  at  the  very  moment  they 
would  have  occasion  to  employ,  a  fleet  and  army.  They 
must  wait  for  an  actual  commencement  of  hostilities  before 
they  would  be  authorized  to  prepare  for  defence,  to  equip 
a  single  regiment,  or  to  build  a  single  ship. 

"  When  it  is  considered  what  a  length  of  time  is  requisite 
to  levy  and  form  an  army,  and  still  more  to  build  and  equip 
a  navy,  which  is  evidently  a  work  of  leisure  and  of  peace, 
requiring  a  gradual  preparation  of  the  means,  there  cannot 
be  presumed  so  improvident  an  intention  in  the  confeder- 
ation, as  that  of  obliging  the  United  States  to  suspend  all 
provision  for  the  common  defence  until  a  declaration  of 
war,  or  an  invasion.  If  this  is  admitted,  it  will  follow  that 
they  are  at  liberty  to  make  such  establishments  in  time  of 
peace  as  they  shall  judge  requisite  to  the  common  safety. 


HAMILTON.  207 

"  This  is  a  principle  of  so  much  importance  in  the  appre- 
hension of  the  committee  to  the  welfare  of  the  union,  that 
if  any  doubt  should  exist  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  first 
mentioned  clause,  it  will,  in  their  opinion,  be  proper  to  ad- 
mit such  a  construction  as  will  leave  the  general  power 
vested  in  the  United  States  by  the  other  clauses  in  full 
force,  unless  the  states  respectively  or  a  majority  of  them 
shall  declare  a  different  interpretation. 

"  The  committee,  however,  submit  to  congress  (in  con- 
formity to  that  spirit  of  candour,  and  to  that  respect  for 
the  sense  of  their  constituents  which  ought  ever  to  charac- 
terize their  proceedings,)  the  propriety  of  transmitting  the 
plan  which  they  may  adopt  to  the  several  states,  to  afford 
an  opportunity  of  signifying  their  sentiments  previous  to 
the  final  execution. 

"  The  committee  are  of  opinion,  if  there  is  a  constitu- 
tional power  in  the  United  States  for  that  purpose,  that 
there  are  conclusive  reasons  in  favour  of  federal  in  pre- 
ference to  state  establishments.  First,  there  are  objects 
for  which  separate  provision  cannot  conveniently  be  made  ; 
posts  within  certain  districts,  the  jurisdiction  and  property 
of  which  are  not  yet  constitutionally  ascertained — territory 
appertaining  to  the  United  States  not  within  the  original 
claim  of  any  of  the  states — the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  of  the  lakes — the  rights  of  the  fisheries,  and 
of  foreign  commerce ;  all  which,  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  depending  on  the  laws  of  nations  and  on  treaty, 
demand  the  joint  protection  of  the  union,  and  cannot  with 
propriety  be  trusted  to  separate  establishments. 

"  Secondly — The  fortifications  proper  to  be  established 
ought  to  be  constructed  with  relation  to  each  other,  on  a 
general  and  well-digested  system,  and  their  defence  should 
be  calculated  on  the  same  principles.  This  is  equally  im- 
portant in  the  double  view  of  safety  and  economy.  If 
this  is  not  done  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States, 


208  THE    LIFE    OF 

eacli  state  following  a  partial  and  disjointed  plan,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  posts  will  have  no  mutual  dependence 
or  support ;  that  they  will  be  improperly  distributed,  and 
more  numerous  than  is  necessary,  as  well  as  less  efficacious, 
of  course  more  easily  reduced,  and  more  extensive  both  in 
the  construction  and  defence. 

"Thirdly — It  happens  that,  from  local  circumstances, 
particular  states,  if  left  to  take  care  of  themselves,  would  be 
in  possession  of  the  chief  part  of  the  standing  forces,  and 
of  the  principal  fortified  places  of  the  union,  a  circum- 
stance inconvenient  to  them  and  to  the  United  States :  to 
them,  because  it  would  impose  a  heavy  exclusive  burden, 
in  a  matter  the  benefit  of  which  will  be  immediately  shared 
by  their  neighbours,  and  ultimately  by  the  states  at  large  ; 
to  the  United  States,  because  it  confides  the  care  of  the. 
safety  of  the  whole  to  a  part,  which  will  naturally  be  un- 
willing as  well  as  unable  to  make  such  effectual  provision, 
at  its  particular  expense,  as  the  common  welfare  requires  ; 
because  a  single  state,  from  the  peculiarity  of  its  situation, 
will  in  a  manner  keep  the  keys  of  the  United  States ;  be- 
cause, in  fine,  a  considerable  force  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
states  may  have  an  unfriendly  aspect,  in  the  confidence 
and  harmony  which  ought  carefully  to  be  maintained  be- 
tween the  whole. 

"  Fourthly — It  is  probable  that  a  provision  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  of  the  forces  necessary  to  be  kept  up  will  be 
made  upon  a  more  systematic  and  economical  plan,  than  a 
provision  by  the  states  separately ;  especially  as  it  will  be 
of  importance,  as  soon  as  the  situation  of  affairs  will  per- 
mit, to  establish  foundries,  manufactories  of  arms,  pow- 
der, &c.,  by  means  of  which,  the  labour  of  part  of  the 
troops  applied  to  this  purpose  will  furnish  the  United 
States  with  those  essential  articles  on  easy  terms,  and 
contribute  to  their  own  support. 

"  Fifthly — There  must  be  a  corps  of  artillery  and  engi- 


HAMILTON.  209 

neers  kept  on  foot  in  time  of  peace,  as  the  officers  of  this 
corps  require  science  and  long  preliminary  study,  and 
cannot  be  formed  on  an  emergency,  and  as  the  neglect  of 
this  institution  would  always  oblige  the  United  States  to 
have  recourse  to  foreigners,  in  time  of  war,  for  a  supply 
of  officers  in  this  essential  branch ;  an  inconvenience 
which  it  ought  to  be  the  object  of  every  nation  to  avoid. 
Nor  indeed  is  it  possible  to  dispense  with  the  services  of 
such  a  corps  in  time  of  peace,  as  it  will  be  indispensable 
not  only  to  have  posts  on  the  frontier,  but  to  have  fortified 
harbours  for  the  reception  and  protection  of  the  fleet  of 
the  United  States.  This  corps  requiring  particular  insti- 
tutions for  the  instruction  and  formation  of  the  officers, 
cannot  exist  upon  separate  establishments  without  a  great 
increase  of  expense. 

"  Sixthly — It  appears  from  the  annexed  papers,  No.  1 
to  4,  to  be  the  concurrent7 opinion  of  the  committee  in 
council,  the  secretary  at  war,  the  inspector-general,  and 
the  chief  engineer,  not  only  that  some  military  establish- 
ment is  indispensable,  but  that  it  ought  in  all  respects  to 
be  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  as  well  for 
military  as  political  reasons.  The  plan  hereafter  submit- 
ted, on  considerations  of  economy  is  less  extensive  than 
proposed  by  either  of  them." 

This  report  contemplated  a  Peace  establishment  of  four 
regiments  of  infantry,  and  one  of  artillery,  with  two  addi- 
tional battalions  to  be  incorporated  in  a  corps  of  engi- 
neers, and  a  regiment  of  dragoons.  Its  details  will  be  the 
subject  of  future  observation. 

As  the  articles  of  confederation  required  the  regimental 
officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  states,  it  proposed  that  they 
should  transfer  this  right  to  congress,  and  also  that  the  men 
should  be  enlisted  under  continental  direction,  "  as  a  more 
certain  and  a  more  frugal  mode."  The  promotions  to  be 
made  regimentally  to  the  rank  of  colonel  according  to  sen- 

27 


210  THE   LIFE   OF 

iority ;  with  an  interesting  provision,  "  that  no  officer  of  any 
corps  shall  consider  it  as  a  violation  of  his  rights,  if  any 
other,  who  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  distinguishing  himself  in  a  particular  manner,  re- 
ceives an  extra  promotion  in  the  corps  on  account  of 
brilliant  services  or  peculiar  talents."  A  general  survey  is 
suggested  preparatory  to  the  adoption  of  a  general  system 
of  land  fortifications. 

Maritime  fortifications,  though  pronounced  "of  the 
highest  importance,"  could  not  be  immediately  undertaken  ; 
but  an  agent  of  marine  is  recommended,  to  obtain  all  the 
lights  and  prepare  all  the  means  previously  requisite  to 
the  establishment  of  ports,  and  the  formation  of  a  navy  to 
be  constructed  and  equipped  on  a  plan  deliberately  com- 
bined in  all  its  parts.  The  establishment  of  arsenals,  and 
magazines  of  such  articles  as  are  not  of  a  perishable  na- 
ture, equal  to  the  complete  equipment  of  thirty  thousand 
men  for  the  field,  or  for  a  siege  calculated  on  a  three  years' 
supply,  was  also  suggested  ;  and  Springfield  in  Massachu- 
setts, West  Point,  a  convenient  position  on  James  river, 
and  Camden  in  South  Carolina,  were  proposed  as  the 
places  of  deposit. 

The  institution  of  military  academies  was  thought  pre- 
mature, and  a  substitute  was  given  in  the  plan  of  the  engi- 
neer corps.  Hamilton  advised  that  a  plan  for  the  erection 
of  manufactories  of  arms  and  foundries  should  be  pre- 
pared by  the  secretary  at  war,  to  be  made  a  serious  object 
of  policy  as  soon  as  the  situation  of  public  affairs  would 
permit.  A  complete  general  staff  during  peace  he  thought 
unnecessary,  and  proposed  that  the  staff  should  consist  of  a 
general  officer  to  command  the  troops,  another  to  com- 
mand the  corps  of  engineers  and  artillery,  and  an  inspector- 
general.  In  time  of  war,  two  regiments  to  form  a  brigade, 
with  a  brigadier  to  each. 

The  details  of  a  general  hospital  for  the  reception  of  the 


HAMILTON.  211 

invalids  of  the  army  and  navy  are  given ;  and  as  the  exist- 
ence of  a  corps  of  cavalry  was  deemed  of  great  importance 
to  the  southern  states,  it  proposed  that  the  commissioned 
officers  should  be  appointed.  The  total  annual  expense  of 
this  establishment  was  estimated  at  three  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars ;  from  which  deducting  the  product 
of  the  manufactories  in  which  the  artillerists  and  artificers 
were  to  be  employed,  the  charge  against  the  United  States 
would  not  exceed  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand 
dollars.  If  this  were  thought  too  large  an  expense,  a  mode 
was  indicated  for  its  further  reduction  ;  and  as  the  officers 
to  be  retained  would  be  taken  from  the  existing  army, 
their  half-pay  would  constitute  another  diminution  of  the 
public  charge.  Such  a  provision  for  the  common  defence 
was  deemed  necessary,  and  the  only  question  was  stated 
to  be,  whether  it  should  be  borne  by  the  United  States  or 
by  the  particular  states  ;  in  which  last  case,  it  would  proba- 
bly be  increased  for  want  of  general  system. 

This  report  also  embraced  the  outline  of  a  plan  for  class- 
ing and  disciplining  the  militia,  whose  organization  was 
pronounced  a  constitutional  duty. 

With  a  view  to  a  more  perfect  system,  a  military  board 
was  proposed  to  be  formed  to  revise  the  regulations  and 
digest  a  general  ordinance  for  the  service  of  the  troops  of 
the  United  States,  and  another  for  the  service  of  the  mili- 
tia ;  who,  as  intended  to  be  constituted,  would  have  formed 
an  efficient  arm  of  defence. 

A  plan  involving  such  important  considerations  would 
arouse  in  the  state  party  vehement  opposition. 

The  exhausted  resources  of  the  country  would  be  urged 
as  an  objection,  the  dangers  of  a  standing  army  insisted 
on,  and  the  constitutional  power  denied.  These  objections, 
where  the  motives  to  a  peace  establishment  were  so  co- 
gent, would  naturally  call  forth  a  vigorous  defence  on  the 
part  of  Hamilton. 


212  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  preamble  of  the  report  gives  the  outline  of  his  con- 
stitutional argument.  Its  policy  would  be  defended  by  a 
reference  to  the  great  national  and  common  interests  of 
the  confederacy,  which  could  only  be  protected  by  its  uni- 
ted exertions  directed  by  one  will.  The  alarm  of  danger 
from  a  standing  army  would  be  met  by  an  appeal  to  the 
recent  experience  of  the  country  and  to  the  lessons  of 
history. 

A  fragment  of  notes  for  the  concluding  observations  of 
Hamilton's  speech  on  this  occasion  exists.  He  stated  that 
it  was  "  an  absurdity  that  congress  are  empowered  to  build 
and  equip  a  navy,  and  yet,  in  time  of  peace,  the  states  are 
to  keep  up  one  in  their  own  defence.  There  must  be  a 
navy  formed  in  time  of  peace ;  it  ought  to  be  proportioned 
to  our  defence,  and  will  then  be  in  all  the  hands  instead  of 
those  of  certain  states. — Congress,  constituted  as  they  are, 
cannot  have  time  for  usurpation  ;  usurpation  in  such  an  ex- 
tensive empire,  requires  long  previous  preparation,  &c. — 
People  seldom  reform  with  moderation. — Men  accustomed 
to  read  of  usurpations  suddenly  effected  in  small  cities, 
look  upon  such  a  thing  as  the  work  of  a  day. — The  weak 
side  of  democracies,  is  danger  of  foreign  corruption.  No 
individual  has  sufficient  interest  in  the  state  to  be  proof 
against  the  seduction. — The  want  of  an  army  lost  the  lib- 
erty of  Athens." 

The  legislature  of  New-Yorlf,  alive  to  the  importance 
of  garrisoning  the  western  posts  immediately  upon  their 
evacuation,  passed  a  vote  in  the  month  of  March,  request- 
ing their  delegates  in  congress  to  obtain  a  resolution  in 
conformity  to  the  sixth  article  of  the  confederation,  de- 
claring the  number  of  troops  they  should  deem  necessary 
for  that  purpose,  stating  the  opinion  of  the  legislature  that 
a  body  not  exceeding  five  hundred  men  would  be  adequate 
to  that  object,  and  their  wish  that  the  force  should  consist 
of  New- York  state  troops  who  had  been  enlisted,  and 


HAMILTON.  213 

were  in  the  pay  of  congress,  but  whom  they  desired  that 
the  United  States  should  declare  thenceforth  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  service  of  the  state,  and  not  in  the  pay  or 
service  of  the  United  States ;  requesting  munitions  and 
provisions  to  be  furnished  by  congress,  but  to  be  eventual- 
ly charged  separately  to  the  state. 

The  letter  from  General  Washington  suggesting  the 
propriety  of  occupying  these  posts  with  a  portion  of  the 
troops  of  the  United  States,  had  been*  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Colonel  Hamilton,  Madison,  Osgood, 
Ellsworth,  and  Wilson,  were  members. 

Hamilton  submitted  a  report  to  congress,  directing  the 
commander-in-chief,  whenever  the  frontier  posts  should  be 
evacuated,  to  place  therein  of  the  troops  under  his  com- 
mand enlisted  for  three  years  such  force  as  he  might  judge 
necessary  to  hold  and  secure  them,  until  further  measures 
should  be  adopted  for  their  security,  for  a  term  not  to  ex- 
ceed nine  months. 

The  consideration  of  this  report,  which  was  commenced 
on  the  eighth  of  May,  was  postponed  by  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia until  the  twelfth,  when  it  was  adopted.  Ten  states 
voted  in  the  affirmative,  Bland,  Lee,  and  Mercer,  the 
members  from  Virginia,  being  against  it. 

The  course  which  Hamilton  took  upon  this  question, 
gave  rise  to  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  minds  of  a  portion 
of  his  constituents.  The  views  of  Clinton,  the  governor 
of  New-York,  were  widely  different,  and  the  proceedings 
of  the  legislature  of  that  state  were  in  accordance  with 
those  views. 

Soon  after  Hamilton  had  retired  from  congress,  Clinton 
addressed  a  general  letter  to  the  delegates  in  that  body. 
Among  other  observations,  he  remarked  in  this  letter,  "  I 
would  take  this  opportunity  also  of  calling  your  attention 

*  May  3,  1783. 


214  THE   LIFE   OF 

to  concurrent  resolutions  of  the  legislature  respecting  the 
garrisoning  of  the  western  posts  in  this  state,  which,  by 
the  provisional  treaty,  are  to  be  evacuated  by  the  British. 
These  resolutions  were  in  the  tenor  of  instructions  to  our 
delegates,  and  were  immediately  transmitted  to  them ;  but 
as  I  have  not  been  favoured  with  any  official  information 
of  the  result,  I  submit  it  to  you,  whether  some  report  on 
a  subject  so  interesting  to  the  state  may  not  be  necessary 
for  the  satisfaction  of  the  legislature.  From  informal 
communications  made  to  me  by  the  commander-in-chief,  I 
have .  reason  to  believe  that  he  has  directions  from  con- 
gress for  garrisoning  those  posts  with  continental  troops, 
and  that  he  is  making  arrangements  for  that  purpose. 
But  as  you  will  observe  that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  legis- 
lature that  those  posts  should  have  been  garrisoned  by  the 
state,  an  explanation  of  the  subject  becomes  the  more  ne- 
cessary ;  and  it  is  now  for  this  reason  alone,  I  would  re- 
quest that  you  would  be  pleased  to  favour  me  with  a  par- 
ticular detail  of  the  motives  which  influenced  the  deter- 
mination of  congress  on  this  occasion.  For  it  will  readily 
be  perceived,  that  should  congress  at  this  late  day  accede 
to  the  propositions  made  by  the  state,  it  might  be  imprac- 
ticable to  carry  them  into  execution ;  especially  as  I  have 
not  ventured,  in  the  state  of  uncertainty  in  which  I  was 
left,  to  incur  the  expense  which  the  necessary  preparations 
for  the  purpose  would  have  required." 

Hamilton,  seeing  the  advantage  which  was  sought  to  be 
derived  by  the  state  party  from  the  jealousies  on  this  sub- 
ject, replied  at  large : — 

"  I  have  lately  received  from  Messrs.  Duane  and  L'Hom- 
medieu  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  your  excellency  to  the 
delegates,  of  the  twenty-third  of  August  last,  requesting  a 
particular  detail  of  the  motives  which  influenced  the  deter- 
mination of  congress  respecting  the  application  of  the  legis- 


HAMILTON.  215 

lature  to  have  their  state  troops  released  from  continental 
pay,  for  the  purpose  of  garrisoning  the  frontier  posts. 

"  In  my  letters  to  your  excellency  of  the  first  of  June 
and  twenty-seventh  of  July,  which  were  intended  to  be 
official,  I  summarily  informed  you  that  congress  had  made 
temporary  provision  for  garrisoning  the  frontier  posts,  and 
that  a  plan  was  under  deliberation  relative  to  a  peace  estab- 
lishment, which  would  of  course  embrace  that  object  per- 
manently ;  that,  such  temporary  provision  being  made  at 
the  common  expense,  and  a  general  plan  being  under  con- 
sideration for  the  future,  I  had  declined  pressing  a  compli- 
ance with  the  application  of  the  legislature,  conceiving  it 
to  be  more  for  the  interest  of  the  state  that  the  expense 
should  be  jointly  borne,  than  that  it  should  fall  exclusively 
upon  itself. 

"  I  did  not  enter  into  a  more  full  detail  upon  the  subject, 
because  the  business  continued,  to  the  time  I  left  congress, 
in  an  undecided  state,  and  it  was  impossible  to  judge  what 
views  would  finally  prevail.  The  concurrent  resolutions 
of  the  two  houses  had  been,  immediately  on  their  receipt, 
referred  to  a  committee  appointed  to  report  on  a  peace 
establishment,  who  had  suspended  their  report  on  these 
resolutions  till  it  should  appear  what  would  be  the  fate  of 
a  general  plan  which  had  been  submitted. 

"  As  to  the  motives  that  influenced  congress  in  making 
the  provision  they  did  make,  rather  than  immediately  as- 
senting to  the  application  of  the  state,  as  far  as  I  was  able 
to  collect  them,  they  were  these  : — The  opinions  of  many 
were  unsettled  as  to  the  most  eligible  mode  of  providing 
for  the  security  of  the  frontiers  consistent  with  the  con- 
stitution, as  well  with  respect  to  the  general  policy  of  the 
union,  as  to  considerations  of  justice  to  those  states  whose 
frontiers  were  more  immediately  exposed.  A  considerable 
part  of  the  house  appeared  to  think,  from  reasons  of  a  very 
cogent  nature,  that  the  well-being  of  the  Union  required  a 


216  THE    LIFE    OF 

federal  provision  for  the  security  of  the  different  parts, 
and  that  it  would  be  a  great  hardship  to  individual  states, 
peculiarly  circumstanced,  to  throw  the  whole  burden  of 
expense  upon  them,  by  recurring  to  separate  provisions  in 
a  matter,  the  benefit  of  which  would  be  immediately  shared 
by  their  neighbours,  and  ultimately  by  the  union  at  large  ; 
that  indeed  it  was  not  probable  particular  states  would  be 
either  able,  or,  upon  experiment,  willing,  to  make  competent 
provision  at  their  separate  expense  ;  and  that  the  principle 
might  eventually  excite  jealousies  between  the  states,  un- 
friendly to  the  common  tranquillity. 

"I  freely  confess  I  was  one  who  held  this  opinion. 
Questions  naturally  arose  as  to  the  true  construction  of 
the  articles  of  confederation  upon  this  head ;  questions  as 
delicate  as  interesting,  and  as  difficult  of  solution.  On  one 
hand,  it  was  doubted  whether  congress  were  authorized  by 
the  confederation  to  proceed  upon  the  idea  of  a  federal 
provision ;  on  the  other,  it  was  perceived  that  such  a  con- 
trary construction  would  be  dangerous  to  the  union,  in- 
cluding, among  other  inconveniences,  this  consequence — 
that  the  United  States,  in  congress,  cannot  raise  a  single 
regiment,  or  equip  a  single  ship,  for  the  general  defence, 
till  after  a  declaration  of  war,  or  an  actual  commencement 
of  hostilities. 

"  In  this  dilemma  on  an  important  constitutional  ques- 
tion, and  other  urgent  matters  depending  before  congress, 
and  the  advanced  season  requiring  a  determination  upon 
the  mode  of  securing  the  western  posts,  in  case  of  a  sur- 
render this  fall,  all  sides  of  the  house  concurred  in  making 
a  temporary  provision  in  the  manner  which  has  been  com- 
municated. 

"  My  apprehension  of  the  views  of  the  legislature  was 
simply  this,  that,  looking  forward  to  a  surrender  of  the 
posts,  and  conceiving,  from  some  expressions  in  the  arti- 
cles of  confederation,  that  separate  provision  was  to  be 


HAMILTON.  217 

made  for  the  frontier  garrisons,  they  had  thought  it  expe- 
dient to  apply  the  troops  already  on  foot  to  that  purpose, 
and  to  propose  to  congress  to  give  their  sanction  to  it. 
Under  this  apprehension — reflecting,  besides,  that  those 
troops  were  engaged  only  for  a  short  period,  upon  a  very 
improper  establishment  to  continue,  on  account  of  the  enor- 
mous pay  to  the  private  men,  and  that  the  expense  which 
is  now  shared  by  all,  and  which  would  have  fallen  solely 
upon  the  state,  had  the  application  been  complied  with,v 
would  probably  be  at  the  rate  of  nearly  eighty  thousand 
dollars  per  annum,  a  considerable  sum  for  the  state  in  its 
present  situation — I  acknowledge  to  your  excellency  that 
I  saw  with  pleasure,  rather  than  regret,  the  turn  which 
the  affair  took.  I  shall  be  sorry,  however,  if  it  has  contra- 
vened the  intentions  of  the  legislature. 

"  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  add,  upon  this  occasion,  that  it 
has  always  appeared  to  me  of  great  importance,  to  this 
state  in  particular,  as  well  as  to  the  union  in  general,  that 
foederal,  rather  than  state,  provision  should  be  made  for  the 
defence  of  every  part  of  the  confederacy,  in  peace  as  well 
as  in  war.  Without  entering  into  arguments  of  general 
policy,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that  this  state  is  in 
all  respects  critically  situated.  Its  relative  position,  shape, 
and  intersections,  viewed  on  the  map,  strongly  speak  this 
language — '  Strengthen  the  confederation  ;  give  it  exclu- 
sively the  power  of  the  sword ;  let  each  state  have  no  forces 
but  its  militia.' 

"  As  a  question  of  mere  economy,  the  following  consider- 
ations deserve  great  weight. 

"  The  North  River  facilitates  attacks  by  sea  and  by  land  ; 
and,  besides  the  frontier  forts,  all  military  men  are  of  opin- 
ion that  a  strong  post  should  be  maintained  at  West  Point, 
or  some  other  position  on  the  lower  part  of  the  river.  If 
Canada  is  well  governed,  it  may  become  well  peopled,  and 
by  inhabitants  attached  to  its  government.  The  British 

28 


218  THE    LIFE    OF 

nation,  while  it  preserves  the  idea  of  retaining  possession 
of  that  country,  may  be  expected  to  keep  on  foot  there  a 
large  force.  The  position  of  that  force,  either  for  defence 
or  offence,  will  necessarily  be  such  as  will  afford  a  prompt 
and  easy  access  to  us.  Our  precautions  for  defence  must 
be  proportioned  to  their  means  of  annoying  us  ;  and  we 
may  hereafter  find  it  indispensable  to  increase  our  frontier 
garrisons.  The  present  charge  of  a  competent  force  in 
that  quarter,  thrown  additionally  into  the  scale  of  those 
contributions  which  we  must  make  to  the  payment  of  the 
public  debt,  and  to  other  objects  of  general  expense,  if  the 
union  lasts,  would,  I  fear,  enlarge  our  burden  beyond  our 
ability ;  that  charge  hereafter  increased,  as  it  may  bey 
would  be  oppressively  felt  by  the  people.  It  includes  not 
only  the  expense  of  paying  and  subsisting  the  necessary 
number  of  troops,  but  of  keeping  the  fortifications  in  repair, 
probably  of  erecting  others,  and  of  furnishing  the  requisite 
supplies  of  military  stores.  I  say  nothing  of  the  Indian 
nations,  because,  though  it  will  be  always  prudent  to  be 
upon  our  guard  against  them,  yet  I  am  of  opinion  we 
may  diminish  the  necessity  of  it  by  making  them  our  friends, 
and  I  take  it  for  granted  there  cannot  be  a  serious  doubt 
any  where  as  to  the  obvious  policy  of  endeavouring  to  do 
it.  Their  friendship  alone  can  keep  our  frontiers  in  peace. 
It  is  essential  to  the  improvement  of  the  fur  trade,  an  ob- 
ject of  immense  importance  to  the  state.  The  attempt  at 
the  total  expulsion  of  so  desultory  a  people,  is  as  chimeri- 
cal as  it  would  be  pernicious.  War  with  them  is  as  ex- 
pensive as  it  is  destructive.  It  has  not  a  single  object ;  for 
the  acquisition  of  their  lands  is  not  to  be  wished  till  those 
now  vacant  are  filled,  and  the  surest  as  well  as  the  most 
just  and  humane  way  of  removing  them,  is  by  extending 
our  settlements  to  their  neighbourhood.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
impossible  they  may  be  already  willing  to  exchange  their 
former  possessions  for  others  more  remote. 


HAMILTON. 

"  The  foregoing  considerations  would  lose  all  force,  if 
\ve  had  full  security  that  the  rest  of  the  world  would  make 
our  safety  and  prosperity  the  first  object  of  their  reverence 
and  care ;  but  an  expectation  of  this  kind  would  be  too 
much  against  the  ordinary  course  of  human  affairs — too 
visionary,  to  be  a  rule  of  national  conduct. 

"  It  is  true,  our  situation  secures  us  from  conquest,  if 
internal  dissensions  do  not  open  the  way  ;  but  when  na- 
tions now  make  war  upon  each  other,  the  object  seldom  is 
total  conquest.  Partial  acquisitions,  the  jealousy  of  pow- 
er, the  rivalship  of  dominion  or  of  commerce,  sometimes  na- 
tional emulation  and  antipathy,  are  the  motives.  Nothing 
shelters  us  from  the  operation  of  either  of  these  causes ; 
the  fisheries,  the  fur  trade,  the  navigation  of  the  lakes  and 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  western  territory,  the  islands  in  the 
West-Indies  with  reference  to  traffic,  in  short,  the  passions 
of  human  nature,  are  abundant  sources  of  contention  and 
hostility. 

"I  will  not  trespass  further  on  your  excellency's  pa- 
tience ;  I  expected,  indeed,  that  my  last  letter  would  have 
finished  my  official  communications;  but  Messrs.  Duane 
and  L'Hommedieu  having  transmitted  the  extract  of  your 
letter  to  Mr.  Floyd  and  myself,  in  order  that  we  might 
comply  with  what  your  excellency  thought  would  be  ex- 
pected by  the  legislature,  it  became  my  duty  to  give  this 
explanation.  Mr.  Floyd  having  been  at  congress  but  a 
short  time  after  the  concurrent  resolutions  arrived,  and 
being  now  at  a  great  distance  from  me,  occasions  a  sepa- 
rate communication." 

While  congress  was  engaged  in  the  consideration  of 
questions  connected  with  the  disposal  of  the  western  lands, 
and  more  particularly  of  the  claims  Virginia  had  inter- 
posed, against  which  Hamilton  contended,  asserting  the 
rights  of  the  United  States,  and  which  called  forth  a  warm 


220  THE    LIFE    OP 

address  from  the  legislature  of  New-Jersey,  urging  them 
not  to  accept  her  cession,  but  to  press  upon  that  state  "  a 
more  liberal  surrender  of  that  territory  of  which  they 
claim  so  boundless  a  proportion,"  their  deliberations  were 
suddenly  suspended.  An  occurrence  took  place,  which, 
though  unattended  with  any  immediate  consequences  of 
moment,  had  at  first  an  alarming  aspect,  and  was  one  of 
the  many  circumstances  that  hastened  the  degradation 
of  the  confederacy.  The  necessities  which  had  compelled 
congress  to  disband  the  army  without  fulfilling  their  en- 
gagements, led  to  this  event.  The  patriotic  soldiery  who 
had  won  the  independence  of  their  country,  submitted  to 
the  severe  sacrifices  to  which  they  were  subjected,  with  a 
patience  and  forbearance  of  which  no  similar  instance  ex- 
ists. Instead  of  alarming  the  country,  and  invading  the 
security  of  society  by  outrages  and  plunder,  a  picture  was 
presented  by  them  of  the  highest  interest.  They  were  seen 
quietly  retiring  to  their  respective  states,  forgetting  the  hab- 
its which  war  usually  forms,  mingling  with  the  mass  of  the 
community  in  their  common  occupations,  and  only  distin- 
guishable from  them  by  the  recital  of  the  exploits  they  had 
performed,  and  of  the  sufferings  they  had  endured ;  by 
those  scars  which  a  sense  of  ingratitude  and  wounded 
pride  would  sometimes  prompt  them  to  display,  and  by  a 
deeper  and  more  fervent  devotion  to  their  country. 

A  different  temper  was  exhibited  by  the  new  levies,  who, 
without  having  shared  the  dangers  of  the  war,  demanded 
an  exact  fulfilment  of  the  public  engagements. 

There  were  in  the  barracks  of  Philadelphia  and  at  Lan- 
caster a  number  of  new  recruits  who  had  never  taken  the 
field,  and  who  refused  to  accept  their  discharges  without 
immediate  pay.  On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  a  petition  sign- 
ed by  their  sergeants,  was  presented  to  congress.  It  v/as 
couched  in  very  peremptory  language,  but  was  disregarded. 
On  the  eighteenth,  letters  were  received  announcing  the 


HAMILTON.  221 

determination  of  another  party  to  march  to  Philadelphia 
to  demand  justice.  They  reached  it  on  the  following  day, 
and  joined  the  men  in  the  barracks. 

Rumours  were  now  circulated  among  the  timid  citizens 
of  an  alarming  character.  The  executive  of  the  state  and 
congress  were  besieged  with  entreaties  to  check  the  rising 
spirit  of  sedition,  and  to  protect  them  from  rapine. 

On  the  first  communication  of  their  purpose,  Hamilton 
was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  to  confer  with  the 
.government  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  endeavour  to  induce 
it  to  call  upon  the  militia  to  stop  the  insurgents,  but  he  was 
unsuccessful.  They  next  despatched  the  assistant  secreta- 
ry at  war  to  meet  them,  and  to  represent  with  coolness, 
but  with  energy,  the  character  of  their  proceedings  and 
the  dangers  they  had  incurred.  The  mutineers  remained 
passive  until  the  twenty-first  of  the  month,  when,  upon  an  in- 
timation that  they  had  cast  off  the  authority  of  their  officers 
and  had  a  design  against  the  bank,  congress  was  convened. 

The  state-house,  in  which  they  met,  and  where  the  ex- 
ecutive of  Pennsylvania  was  then  sitting,  was  surrounded 
by  three  hundred  soldiers  armed  with  bayonets,  under  the 
command  of  seven  sergeants,  who  sent  in  a  message  to  con- 
gress, that  "  unless  their  demand  was  complied  with  in 
twenty  minutes,  they  would  let  in  upon  them  the  injured 
soldiery,  the  consequences  of  which,  they  were  to  abide." 
Congress  ordered  General  St.  Clair  to  appear  before  them ; 
and  after  having  received  a  statement  from  him,  deter- 
mined that  they  would  enter  into  no  deliberation  with  the 
mutineers,  that  they  must  return  to  Lancaster,  and  that 
there,  and  only  there,  they  would  be  paid. 

St.  Clair  was  directed  to  endeavour  to  march  them  to 
their  barracks.  During  this  interval  the  federal  legisla- 
ture adjourned,  and  passed  through  the  files  of  the  muti- 
neers without  opposition,  though  individual  members  had 
been  previously  threatened  by  them. 


222  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  insurgents  had  taken  possession  of  the  powder 
house,  and  of  some  of  the  public  arsenals,  with  several 
field-pieces.  Congress  met  in  the  evening,  and  again  ad- 
journed, having  passed  resolutions  that  they  had  been 
grossly  insulted,  directing  their  committee  to  confer  with 
the  executive  of  the  state,  and  if  there  was  no  sufficient 
ground  for  expecting  adequate  and  prompt  exertions  for 
supporting  the  dignity  of  the  federal  government,  that 
they  should  be  convened  at  Philadelphia  at  a  future  day. 

Hamilton,  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  then  waited 
upon  the  executive  of  Pennsylvania,  and  represented  that 
the  proceeding  was  so  serious  as  to  render  palliatives  im- 
proper, and  to  require  a  resort  to  vigorous  measures  to 
compel  them  to  submission,  and  urged  the  employment  of 
the  militia.  To  this  communication  the  executive  council 
replied  that  they  must  first  ascertain  the  disposition  of  the 
militia.  On  the  following  day  the  committee  asked  of  the 
executive  a  definitive  reply  in  turiting.  The  council  de- 
clined giving  a  written  answer,  but  stated  verbally  that 
while  they  regretted  the  occurrence,  no  aid  could  be  ex- 
pected from  the  militia  except  in  case  of  personal  violence, 
expressing  doubts  as  to  the  policy  of  vigorous  measures. 
The  committee  replied  that  the  measures  of  congress  indi- 
cated their  opinion ;  that  the  mutineers  had  passed  the 
bounds  within  which  a  spirit  of  compromise  was  consist- 
ent with  the  dignity  and  safety  of  the  government ;  that 
impunity  for  what  had  happened  might  lead  to  more  fla- 
grant proceedings,  invite  others  to  follow  the  example  and 
extend  the  mischief,  and  that  they  had  directed  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  to  march  a  detachment  to  suppress  the 
mutiny. 

The  committee  finding  that  there  were  no  satisfactory 
grounds  to  expect  prompt  and  adequate  exertions  from  the 
executive  of  Pennsylvania,  felt  themselves  bound  to  advise 
the  removal  of  congress.  Anxious  to  maintain  the  dignity 


HAMILTON.  223 

of  that  body,  and  willing  to  protract  their  departure  as 
long  as  they  were  justified  in  the  hope  that  the  council 
might  adopt  vigorous  measures,  they  deferred  it  until  the 
twenty-fourth,  when  seeing  no  hope  of  aid  from  the  coun- 
cil, and  having  every  reason  to  expect  new  and  more  ex- 
travagant demands  from  the  mutineers,  they  advised  an 
adjournment  to  Princeton.  The  day  after  their  arrival 
there,  on  the  motion  of  Hamilton  a  resolution  was  passed 
directing  General  Howe  to  march  an  adequate  force  to 
Philadelphia  to  disarm  the  mutineers,  and  bring  their  lead- 
ers to  trial.  These  measures  were  adopted ;  but  after 
obedience  was  secured,  congress  granted  a  pardon.  These 
proceedings,  deeply  offensive  as  they  were  to  that  body, 
were  more  particularly  so  to  Hamilton,  who  had  been  its 
instrument  in  endeavouring  to  preserve  its  dignity. 

The  executive  of  Pennsylvania  perceiving  the  indigna- 
tion which  its  irresolution  had  excited,  transmitted  a  mes- 
sage to  the  assembly  of  the  state  giving  a  statement  of  its 
proceedings. 

Immediately  after  this  publication,  incensed  at  what  he 
deemed  a  premeditated  attempt  to  mislead  public  opinion, 
Hamilton  addressed  them  a  highly  interesting  letter  de- 
fending the  coercive  measures  he  had  advised,  discussing 
with  great  force  the  obligations  of  government  to  sustain 
their  authority  under  similar  circumstances,  and  making  a 
thorough  investigation  on  general  principles  of  the  means 
proper  for  quelling  a  mutiny. 

His  views  from  the  commencement  being,  "  that  the  mu- 
tiny ought  not  to  be  terminated  by  negotiation ;  that  con- 
gress were  justifiable  in  leaving  a  place  where  they  did 
not  receive  the  support  which  they  had  a  right  to  expect ; 
but  as  their  removal  was  a  measure  of  a  critical  and  deli- 
cate nature,  might  have  an  ill  appearance  in  Europe,  and 
might,  from  events,  be  susceptible  of  an  unfavourable  inter- 
pretation in  this  country,  it  was  prudent  to  delay'until  its 


224  THE    LIFE   OP 

necessity  became  apparent, — not  only  till  it  was  manifest 
there  would  be  no  change  in  the  spirit  which  seemed  to 
actuate  the  council  of  Pennsylvania,  but  till  it  was  evident 
complete  submission  was  not  to  be  expected  from  the 
troops  ;  that  to  give  full  time  for  this,  it  was  proper  to  delay 
the  departure  of  congress  till  the  latest  period." 

Though  he  considered  the  delay  of  this  advice  as  at 
their  extreme  peril,  yet,  as  to  himself,  he  declared  that  he 
should  persist  in  it  till  the  result  of  the  consultation  with 
the  militia  officers,  or  some  new  circumstance  should  occur 
to  explain  the  designs  of  the  mutineers ;  that  in  pursuing 
this  line  of  conduct  he  should  counteract  the  sense  of  some 
gentlemen  whose  feelings  on  the  occasion  were  keen,  and 
the  opinions  of  others  who  thought  the  situation  of  con- 
gress under  the  existing  circumstances  extremely  awkward, 
precarious,  and  unjustifiable  to  their  constituents.  Subse- 
quent circumstances,  indicating  a  collusion  between  the 
committee  and  the  mutineers,  overcame  his  opposition  to 
the  report  for  their  removal. 

When  commenting  on  this  occurrence,  he  remarked : — 
"  It  was  the  duty  of  government  to  provide  effectually 
against  the  repetition  of  such  outrages,  and  to  put  itself  in 
a  situation  to  give,  instead  of  receiving  the  law  ;  and  to 
manifest  that  its  compliance  was  not  the  effect  of  necessi- 
ty, but  of  choice.  This  was  not  to  be  considered  as  the 
disorderly  riot  of  an  armed  mob,  but  as  the  deliberate 
mutiny  of  an  incensed  soldiery,  carried  to  the  utmost  point 
of  outrage  short  of  assassination.  The  licentiousness  of  an 
army  is  to  be  dreaded  in  every  government ;  but  in  a  re- 
public it  is  more  particularly  to  be  restrained,  and  when 
directed  against  the  civil  authority,  to  be  checked  with 
energy  and  punished  with  severity.  The  merits  and  suf- 
ferings of  the  troops  might  be  a  proper  motive  for  mitiga- 
ting punishment,  when  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  govern- 
ment to  inflict  it ;  but  there  was  no  reason  for  relaxing  in 


HAMILTON.  225 

the  measures  necessary  to  arrive  at  that  situation.  Its 
authority  was  first  to  be  vindicated,  and  then  its  clemency 
to  be  displayed. 

"  The  rights  of  government  are  as  essential  to  be  de- 
fended as  the  rights  of  individuals.  The  security  of  the 
one  is  inseparable  from  that  of  the  other ;  and  indeed  in 
every  new  government,  especially  of  the  popular  kind, 
the  great  danger  is,  that  public  authority  will  not  be  suf- 
ficiently respected." 

After  adverting  to  the  probability  of  an  accession  of 
strength  to  the  mutineers,  he  observed : — "  In  this  state 
of  things,  decision  was  most  compatible  with  the  safety 
of  the  community  as  well  as  the  dignity  of  government. 
Though  no  general  convulsion  might  be  apprehended,  seri- 
ous mischief  might  attend  the  progress  of  the  disorder. 
Indeed,  it  would  have  been  meanness  to  have  negotiated 
and  temporized  with  an  armed  banditti  of  four  or  five 
hundred  men,  who,  in  any  other  situation  than  surround- 
ing a  defenceless  senate,  could  only  become  formidable  by 
being  feared.  This  was  not  an  insurrection  of  a  whole 
people  ;  it  was  not  an  army  with  their  officers  at  their 
head,  demanding  the  justice  of  the  country — either  of 
which  might  have  made  caution  and  concession  respect- 
able ;  it  was  a  handful  of  mutinous  soldiers,  who  had 
equally  violated  the  laws  of  discipline  as  the  rights  of  pub- 
lic authority." 

"  There  was  a  propriety  in  calling  for  the  aid  of  the  mili- 
tia in  the  first  place  for  different  reasons.  Civil  govern- 
ment may  always  with  more  peculiar  propriety  resort  to 
the  aid  of  the  citizens  to  repel  military  insults  or  encroach- 
ments. 'Tis  there,  it  ought  to  be  supposed,  where  it  may 
seek  its  surest  dependence ;  especially  in  a  democracy, 
which  is  the  creature  of  the  people.  The  citizens  of  each 
state  are,  in  an  aggregate  light,  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  bound  as  much  to  support  the  representatives 

29 


226  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  the  whole  as  their  own  immediate  representatives.  The 
insult  was  not  to  congress  personally,  it  was  to  the  govern* 
ment,  to  public  authority  in  general,  and  was  very  pro- 
perly put  on  that  footing.  The  only  question  is,  whether 
there  was  greater  danger  to  the  city  in  attempting  their 
reduction  by  force,  than  in  endeavouring  by  palliatives  to 
bring  them  to  a  sense  of  duty.  It  has  been  urged,  and 
appeared  to  have  operated  strongly  on  the  council,  that 
the  soldiers  being  already  embodied,  accustomed  to  arms, 
and  ready  to  act  at  a  moment's  warning,  it  would  be  ex- 
tremely hazardous  to  attempt  to  collect  the  citizens  to 
subdue  them,  as  the  mutineers  might  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  first  confusions  incident  to  the  measure  to  do 
a  great  deal  of  mischief  before  the  militia  could  have  as- 
sembled in  equal  or  superior  force. 

"  It  is  not  to  be  denied  but  that  a  small  body  of  disci- 
plined troops,  headed  and  led  by  their  officers,  with  a  plan  of 
conduct,  could  have  effected  a  great  deal  in  similar  circum- 
stances ;  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  nothing  can  be  more 
contemptible  than  a  body  of  men  used  to  be  commanded 
and  to  obey,  when  deprived  of  the  example  and  direction 
of  their  officers.  They  are  infinitely  less  to  be  dreaded 
than  an  equal  number  of  men  who  have  never  been  bro- 
ken to  command,  nor  exchanged  their  natural  courage  for 
that  artificial  kind  which  is  the  effect  of  discipline  and 
habit.  Soldiers  transfer  their  confidence  from  themselves 
to  their  officers,  face  danger  by  the  force  of  example,  the 
dread  of  punishment,  and  the  sense  of  necessity.  Take 
away  these  inducements,  and  leave  them  to  themselves, 
they  are  no  longer  resolute  than  till  they  are  opposed. 
The  idea  of  coercion  was  the  safest  and  most  prudent,  for 
more  was  to  be  apprehended  from  leaving  them  to  their 
own  passions,  than  from  attempting  to  control  them  by 
force.  The  events  corresponded  with  this  reasoning — the 
departure  of  congress  brought  the  matter  to  a  crisis,  and 


HAMILTON.  227 

the  council  were  compelled,  by  necessity,  to  do  what  they 
ought  to  have  done  before  through  choice." 

In  concluding  this  sketch  of  Hamilton's  services  for  the 
short  period  of  eight  months  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confed- 
eration, it  is  due  to  him  to  remark,'that  faint  as  this  outline 
is,  from  the  imperfect  materials  that  exist,  enough  remains 
to  show  his  commanding  position,  moral  and  intellectual. 

In  his  letters  to  the  superintendent  of  finance,  when 
speaking  of  the  temper  of  the  New- York  legislature,  he 
observed  that,  to  effect  a  change  of  their  system,  "  moun- 
tains of  prejudice  and  particular  interest  are  to  be  level- 
led," that  his  efforts  to  introduce  efficient  modes  of  taxa- 
tion had  failed,  and  though  "  there  was  a  pretty  general  opin- 
ion that  the  system  of  funding  for  payment  of  old  debts, 
and  for  procuring  further  credit,  was  wise  and  indispensa- 
ble, yet  that  a  majority  thought  it  would  be  unwise  in  one 
state  to  contribute  in  this  way  alone." 

With  such  dispositions  in  that  state,  and  with  the  gene- 
eral  temper  of  the  country  and  of  congress,  it  was  no  tri- 
vial task  to  combat ;  yet  while  some  around  him  are  seen 
seeking  safety  in  compromises  between  their  sense  of  duty 
and  their  love  of  popularity,  between  the  general  welfare 
and  state  interests,  he  is  beheld,  from  the  commencement 
of  his  career,  boldly  meeting  all  the  public  prejudices,  con- 
futing every  objection  as  it  arose,  standing  almost  alone 
in  opposition  to  measures  which  he  could  not  believe  were 
promotive  of  the  country's  good,  and  urging  in  their  stead 
the  adoption  of  an  energetic  and  comprehensive  system  of 
national  policy — a  system  of  policy  which  has  controlled 
the  destinies  of  this  republic,  and  of  which  the  great  car- 
dinal principles  have  become  American  maxims  of  state. 

As  to  its  exterior  relations,  his  views  are  seen  to  have 
been,  Neutrality  with  foreign  powers — Friendship  with 
"the  Indian  nations" — the  Gradual  "acquisition  "of  their 
lands  by  purchase,  and, "  as  the  most  just  and  humane  way  of 


228  THE   LIFE   OF 

removing  them,  the  extending  our  settlements  to  their  neigh- 
bourhood." 

As  to  the  defence  of  the  country,  a  small  compact  Peace 
establishment,  land  and  naval,  capable  of  being  augmented 
without  derangement. 

As  to  its  commerce,  Treaties  of  equality  and  reciprocity 
of  short  duration,  reserving  the  power  of  aiding  domestic 
industry  ;  light  and  easy  duties  on  imports,  as  "  a  mode  of 
revenue  which  preserves  a  just  measure  to  the  abilities  of 
individuals,  promotes  frugality,  and  taxes  extravagance,"  so 
imposed  as  to  encourage,  by  judicious  discriminations,  by 
"  bounties  and  by  premiums,"  the  production  of  articles  of 
primary  necessity. 

As  to  the  Fiscal  system,  a  revenue  to  be  derived  from 
"  permanent  funds,"  to  be  imposed  and  collected  by  congress, 
and,  lest  the  public  burdens  should  too  much  press,  or  the 
public  resources  be  too  dependent  upon  commerce,  duties 
upon  certain  luxuries,  and  a  small  land  tax,  as  auxiliaries. 

The  revenue  to  become  the  basis  of  "  Foreign  loans"  to 
Fund  the  debt,  and  of  a  "  Sinking  fund"  to  discharge  it. 

The  "  Assumption"  of  the  debts  of  the  states  incurred  for 
the  common  defence,  and  a  provision  for  every  class  of  the 
public  creditors,  without  any  discrimination  between  the 
original  holders  or  purchasers. 

A  National  Bank,  as  an  instrument  to  facilitate  the  pay- 
ment and  collection  of  duties,  and  to  aid  and  regulate  the 
commerce  between  the  states  by  supplying  and  maintain- 
ing an  uniform  currency. 

It  is  important  to  remark  that  such  was  his  policy  at  this 
time,  when  no  motives  of  ambition,  no  calculations  of  per- 
sonal interest,  could  possibly  have  prompted  them — when 
they  only  could  have  been  entertained  and  avowed  from  a 
conviction  that  they  would  promote  the  general  welfare — 
when,  as  he  wrote  to  Clinton,  "  he  had  no  future  views  in 
public  life." 


HAMILTON.  229 

Views  such  as  these  could  only  have  been  entertained 
by  a  mind  fraught  with  the  great  idea  of  regulating  the 
conflicting  forces  which  disturbed  the  political  system  by 
a  general  pervading  and  controlling  law — with  the  idea  of 
instituting  a  government  duly  checked  with  powers  and 
organs  "  adequate  to  the  exigencies"  of  the  nation. 

In  his  address  urging  Rhode  Island  to  grant  to  Congress 
the  power  of  levying  an  impost,  he  stated  that "  a  Repre- 
sentative Republic  ought  to  have  the  means  necessary  to 
answer  the  end  of  its  institution,"  and  as  a  justification  of 
the  demand,  he  asserted  that  the  measure,  if  not  within  the 
letter,  is  within  the  spirit  of  the  confederation. "  Congress 
by  that  are  empowered  to  borrow  money  for  the  use  of 
the  United  States,  and,  by  implication,  to  concert  the 
means  necessary  to  accomplish  the  end."  Manifest  as 
these  inductions  are,  and  repudiating,  as  he  had  done  to- 
tally, the  idea  of  a  resort  to  force,  he  saw  that  this  implica- 
tion only  gave  to  congress  the  power  "to  concert  the 
means."  Hence  he  proposed  that  it  should  be  empowered 
to  nominate  its  own  officers  to  collect  the  revenue  from 
individuals. 

This  was  the  initiatory  idea  of  a  General  Government 
with  organs  to  exercise  its  powers  directly,  without  state 
intervention* — an  expedient  now  obvious  to  every  mind, 
but  how  far  removed  from  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the 
country,  and  from  the  system  of  the  confederation  with 
its  congress  of  ambassadors  ! 

*  This  proposition  is  previously  stated  in  full,  as  presented  by  him  on  the 
twentieth  of  March.  The  affirmative  states  were  Connecticut,  New- York, 
NewJersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  The  votes  of  the  delegates  were — ayes, 
Bland,  Boudinot,  Clark,  Condict,  Dyer,  Floyd,  Hamilton,  McComb,  Mont- 
gomery, Peters,  Rutledge,  Wilson,  Wolcott.  Those  against  it  were  Arnold, 
Bedford,  Collins,  Fitzsimmons,  Gervais,  Gilman,  Gorham,  Hawkins,  Hems- 
Jey,  Higginson,  Holten,  A.  Lee,  F.  F.  Lee,  Madison,  Mercer,  Osgood,  White, 
Williamson.  4  J.  C.  177.  Two  only  of  the  southern  members  voted  for  it 
— Bland  and  Rutledge. 


230  THE    LIFE    OF 

Defeated  in  this  measure,  and  disappointed  in  his  other 
exertions  to  prop  the  national  edifice,  yet  full  of  appre- 
hension for  the  continuance  of  the  union,  he  felt  that  it 
was  due  to  the  people  of  this  great  country,  while  yet  uni- 
ted under  a  general  confederacy,  to  appeal  to  them  in  their 
own  behalf. 

With  this  view  he  prepared  the  following  resolutions ; 
but  finding  that  they  could  not  succeed,  and  unwilling  that  a 
new  obstacle  should  be  raised  by  the  formal  rejection  of  pro- 
positions of  such  magnitude,  he  did  not  bring  them  forward. 

On  the  draft  this  endorsement,  made  by  himself,  is  to  be 
seen — "Intended  to  be  submitted  to  congress  in  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty-three,  but  abandoned  for  want 
of  support !" 

From  the  little  care  he  bestowed  upon  his  manuscripts* 
the  fact  of  this  memorandum  having  been  made  by  him, 
would  seem  to  indicate  Hamilton's  desire  to  preserve  this 
evidence  of  his  early-matured  purpose  to  establish  a  bal- 
anced constitutional  government,  with  distinct  depart- 
ments and  adequate  powers. 

"  Whereas,  in  the  opinion  of  this  congress,  the  confeder- 
ation of  the  United  States  is  defective  in  the  following  es- 
sential points. 

"  First,  and  generally,  in  confining  the  federal  govern- 
ment within  too  narrow  limits  ;  withholding  from  it  that 
efficacious  authority  and  influence  in  all  matters  of  general 
concern,  which  are  indispensable  to  the  harmony  and  wel- 
fare of  the  whole  ;  embarrassing  general  provisions  by 
unnecessary  details  and  inconvenient  exceptions  incompat- 
ible with  their  nature,  tending  only  to  create  jealousies  and 
disputes  respecting  the  proper  bounds  of  the  authority  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  that  of  the  particular  states,  and 
a  mutual  interference  of  the  one  with  the  other. 

"  Secondly — In  confounding  legislative  and  executive 
powers  in  a  single  body ;  as  that  of  determining  on  the 


HAMILTON.  231 

.  number  and  quantity  of  force,  land  and  naval,  to  be  em- 
ployed for  the  common  defence,  and  of  directing  their  ope- 
rations when  raised  and  equipped  ;  with  that  of  ascertain- 
ing and  making  requisitions  for  the  necessary  sums  or 
quantities  of  money  to  be  paid  by  the  respective  states  into 
the  common  treasury,  contrary  to  the  most  approved  and 
well-founded  maxims  of  free  government,  which  require 
that  the  LEGISLATIVE,  EXECUTIVE,  and  JUDICIAL  authorities 
should  be  deposited  in  distinct  and  separate  hands. 

"  Thirdly — In  the  want  of  a  FEDERAL  JUDICATURE,  hav- 
ing cognizance  of  all  matters  of  general  concern  in  the  last 
resort,  especially  those  in  which  foreign  nations  and  their 
subjects  are  interested  ;  from  which  defect,  by  the  interfe- 
rence of  the  local  regulations  of  particular  states  militating, 
directly  or  indirectly,  against  the  powers  vested  in  the 
union,  the  national  treaties  will  be  liable  to  be  infringed, 
the  national  faith  to  be  violated,  and  the  public  tranquillity 
to  be  disturbed. 

"Fourthly — In  vesting  the  United  States,  in  congress 
assembled,  with  the  power  of  general  taxation,  comprehend- 
ed in  that  '  of  ascertaining  the  necessary  sums  of  money 
to  be  raised  for  the  common  defence,  and  of  appropriating 
and  applying  the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses ;' 
and  yet  rendering  that  power,  so  essential  to  the  existence 
of  the  union,  nugatory,  by  withholding  from  them  all  con- 
trol over  either  the  imposition  or  the  collection  of  the  taxes 
for  raising  the  sums  required,  whence  it  happens  that  the 
inclinations,  not  the  abilities,  of  the  respective  states  are, 
in  fact,  the  criterion  of  their  contributions  to  the  common 
expense,  and  the  public  burden  has  fallen,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  fall,  with  very  unequal  weight. 

"  Fifthly — In  fixing  a  rule  for  determining  the  propor- 
tion of  each  state  towards  the  common  expense,  which,  if 
practicable  at  all,  must  in  the  execution  be  attended  with 
great  expense,  inequality,  uncertainty,  and  difficulty. 


232  THE    LIFE   O* 

"  Sixthly — In  authorizing  congress  '  to  borrow  money, 
or  emit  bills,  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,'  without 
the  power  of  establishing  funds  to  secure  the  repayment 
of  the  money  or  the  redemption  of  the  bills  emitted,  from 
which  must  result  one  of  these  evils — either  a  want  of  suf- 
ficient credit  in  the  first  instance  to  borrow,  or  to  circu- 
late the  bills  emitted,  whereby  in  great  national  exigencies 
the  public  safety  may  be  endangered,  or,  in  the  second 
instance,  frequent  infractions  of  the  public  engagements, 
disappointments  to  lenders,  repetitions  of  the  calamities 
of  depreciating  paper,  a  continuance  of  the  injustice  and 
mischiefs  of  an  unfunded  debt,  and,  first  or  last,  the  anni- 
hilation of  public  credit.  Indeed,  in  authorizing  congress 
at  all  to  emit  an  unfunded  paper  as  the  sign  of  value ;  a 
resource,  which,  though  useful  in  the  infancy  of  this  coun- 
try, indispensable  in  the  commencement  of  the  revolution, 
ought  not  to  continue  a  formal  part  of  the  constitution,  nor 
ever  hereafter  to  be  employed,  being  in  its  nature  pregnant 
with  abuses,  and  liable  to  be  made  the  engine  of  imposition 
and  fraud,  holding  out  temptations  equally  pernicious  to  the 
integrity  of  government  and  to  the  morals  of  the  people. 

"  Seventhly — In  not  making  proper  or  competent  provi- 
sion for  interior  or  exterior  defence :  for  interior  defence,  by 
leaving  it  to  the  individual  states  to  appoint  all  regimental 
officers  of  the  land  forces,  to  raise  the  men  in  their  own  way, 
to  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them,  at  the  expense  of  the  United 
States ;  from  which  circumstances  have  resulted,  and  will 
hereafter  result,  great  confusion  in  the  military  department, 
continual  disputes  of  rank,  languid  and  disproportionate 
levies  of  men,  an  enormous  increase  of  expense  for  want 
of  system  and  uniformity  in  the  manner  of  conducting 
them,  and  from  the  competitions  of  state  bounties ; — by 
an  ambiguity  in  the  fourth  clause  of  the  sixth  article,  sus- 
ceptible of  a  construction  which  would  devolve  upon  the 
particular  states  in  time  of  peace  the  care  of  their  own 


HAMILTON.  233 

defence  both  by  sea  and  land,  and  would  preclude  the  Uni- 
ted States  from  raising  a  single  regiment  or  building  a 
single  ship  before  a  declaration  of  war,  or  an  actual  com- 
mencement of  hostilities  ;  a  principle  dangerous  to  the 
confederacy  in  different  respects,  by  leaving  the  United 
States  at  all  times  unprepared  for  the  defence  of  their 
common  rights,  obliging  them  to  begin  to  raise  an  army 
and  to  build  and  equip  a  navy  at  the  moment  they  would 
have  occasion  to  employ  them,  and  by  putting  into  the 
hands  of  a  few  states,  who  from  their  local  situations  are 
more  immediately  exposed,  all  the  standing  forces  of  the 
country,  thereby  not  only  leaving  the  care  of  the  safety  of 
the  whole  to  a  part,  which  will  naturally  be  both  unwilling 
and  unable  to  make  effectual  provision  at  its  particular 
expense,  but  also  furnishing  grounds  of  jealousy  and  dis- 
trust between  the  states,  unjust  in  its  operation  to  those 
states  in  whose  hands  they  are,  by  throwing  the  exclusive 
burden  of  maintaining  those  forces  upon  them,  while  their 
neighbours  immediately,  and  all  the  states  ultimately,  would 
share  the  benefits  of  their  services :  for  exterior  defence, 
in  authorizing  congress  '  to  build  and  equip  a  navy,' 
without  providing  any  means  of  manning  it,  either  by  re- 
quisitions of  the  states,  by  the  power  of  registering  and 
drafting  the  seamen  in  rotation,  or  by  embargoes  in  cases 
of  emergency,  to  induce  them  to  accept  employment  on 
board  the  ships  of  war ;  the  omission  of  all  which  leaves 
no  other  resource  than  voluntary  enlistment ;  a  resource 
which  has  been  found  ineffectual  in  every  country,  and  for 
reasons  of  peculiar  force,  in  this. 

"  Eighthly — In  not  vesting  in  the  United  States  A  GEN- 
ERAL SUPERINTENDENCE  OF  TRADE,  equally  necessary  in 
the  view  of  revenue  and  regulation :  of  revenue,  because 
duties  on  commerce,  when  moderate,  are  among  the  most 
agreeable  and  productive  species  of  it  which  cannot  with- 
out great  disadvantages  be  imposed  by  particular  states, 

30 


234  THE    LIFE    OP 

while  others  refrain  from  doing  it,  but  must  be  imposed  in 
concert,  and  by  laws  operating  upon  the  same  princi- 
ples, at  the  same  moment,  in  all  the  states ;  otherwise 
those  states  which  should  not  impose  them  would  en- 
gross the  commerce  of  such  of  their  neighbours  as  did : 
of  regulation,  because  by  general  prohibitions  of  par- 
ticular articles,  by  a  judicious  arrangement  of  duties, 
sometimes  by  bounties  on  the  manufacture  or  exportation 
of  certain  commodities,  injurious  branches  of  commerce 
might  be  discouraged,  favourable  branches  encouraged, 
useful  products  and  manufactures  promoted ;  none  of 
which  advantages  can  be  effectually  attained  by  separate 
regulations  without  a  general  superintending  power ;  be- 
cause, also,  it  is  essential  to  the  due  observance  of  the  com- 
mercial stipulations  of  the  United  States  with  foreign 
powers,  an  interference  with  which  will  be  unavoidable 
if  the  different  states  have  the  exclusive  regulation  of  their 
own  trade,  and  of  course  the  construction  of  the  treaties 
entered  into. 

"  Ninthly — In  defeating  essential  powers  by  provisoes 
and  limitations  inconsistent  with  their  nature,  as  the  power 
of  making  treaties  with  foreign  nations, '  provided  that  no 
treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made  whereby  the  legislative 
power  of  the  respective  states  shall  be  restrained  from  im- 
posing such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners  as  their  own 
people  are  subjected  to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  importa- 
tion or  exportation  of  any  species  of  goods  or  commodi- 
ties whatever ;'  a  proviso  susceptible  of  an  interpretation 
which  includes  a  constitutional  possibility  of  defeating  the 
treaties  of  commerce  entered  into  by  the  United  States. 
As  also  the  power  '  of  regulating  the  trade,  and  managing 
all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  states ; 
provided,  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  state  within  its 
own  limits  be  not  infringed  or  violated,'  and  others  of  a 
similar  nature. 


HAMILTON.  235 

"  Tenthly — In  granting  the  United  States  the  sole  pow- 
er '  of  regulating  the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their 
own  authority,  or  by  that  of  the  respective  states,'  without 
the  power  of  regulating  foreign  coin  in  circulation,  though 
one  is  essential  to  the  due  exercise  of  the  other,  as  there 
ought  to  be  such  proportions  maintained  between  the  na- 
tional and  foreign  coin,  as  will  give  the  former  a  prefer- 
ence in  all  internal  negotiations  ;  and  without  the  latter 
power,  the  operations  of  government,  in  a  matter  of  prima- 
ry importance  to  the  commerce  and  finances  of  the  United 
States,  will  be  exposed  to  numberless  obstructions. 

"Eleventhly — In  requiring  the  assent  of  nine  states  to 
matters  of  principal  importance,  and  of  seven  to  all  others, 
except  adjournments  from  day  to  day,  a  rule  destructive 
of  vigour,  consistency,  or  expedition,  in  the  administration 
of  affairs,  tending  to  subject  the  sense  of  the  majority  to 
that  of  the  minority,  by  putting  it  in  the  power  of  a  small 
combination  to  retard  and  even  to  frustrate  the  most  neces- 
sary measures,  and  to  oblige  the  greater  number,  in  cases 
which  require  speedy  determinations,  as  happens  in  the  most 
interesting  concerns  of  the  community,  to  come  into  the 
views  of  the  smaller  ;  the  evils  of  which  have  been  felt  in 
critical  conjunctures,  and  must  always  make  the  spirit  of 
government  a  spirit  of  compromise  and  expedience,  rather 
than  of  system  and  energy. 

"  Twelfthly — In  vesting  in  the  federal  government  the 
sole  direction  of  the  interests  of  the  United  States  in  their 
intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  without  empowering  it 
to  pass  ALL  GENERAL  LAWS  in  aid  and  support  of  the  laws 
of  nations  ;  for  the  want  of  which  authority,  the  faith  of 
the  United  States  may  be  broken,  their  reputation  sullied, 
and  their  peace  interrupted,  by  the  negligence  or  miscon- 
ception of  any  particular  state. 

"And  whereas  experience  hath  clearly  manifested  that 
the  powers  reserved  to  the  union  in  the  confederation,  are 


236  THE    LIFE   OF 

unequal  to  the  purpose  of  effectually  drawing  forth  the  re- 
sources of  the  respective  members,  for  the  common  welfare 
and  defence  ;  whereby  the  United  States  have,  upon  sev- 
eral occasions,  been  exposed  to  the  most  critical  and 
alarming  situations;  have  wanted  an  army  adequate  to 
their  defence,  and  proportioned  to  the  abilities  of  the 
country ;  have  on  account  of  that  deficiency  seen  essen- 
tial posts  reduced — others  imminently  endangered — whole 
states,  and  large  parts  of  others,  overrun  and  ravaged  by 
small  bodies  of  the  enemy's  forces  ;  have  been  destitute  of 
sufficient  means  of  feeding,  clothing,  paying,  and  appoint- 
ing that  army,  by  which  the  troops,  rendered  less  efficient 
for  military  operations,  have  been  exposed  to  sufferings, 
which  nothing  but  unparalleled  patience,  perseverance, 
and  patriotism  could  have  endured.  Whereas,  also,  the 
United  States  have  been  too  often  compelled  to  make  the 
administration  of  their  affairs  a  succession  of  temporary 
expedients,  inconsistent  with  order,  economy,  energy,  or 
a  scrupulous  adherence  to  the  public  engagements,  and 
now  find  themselves,  at  the  close  of  a  glorious  struggle  for 
independence,  without  any  certain  means  of  doing  justice 
to  those  who  have  been  its  principal  supporters — to  an  ar- 
my which  has  bravely  fought,  and  patiently  suffered — to 
citizens  who  have  cheerfully  lent  their  money — and  to 
others  who  have  in  different  ways  contributed  their  pro- 
perty and  their  personal  service  to  the  common  cause ; 
obliged  to  rely  for  the  only  effectual  mode  of  doing  that 
justice,  by  funding  the  debt  on  solid  securities,  on  the  pre- 
carious concurrence  of  thirteen  distinct  deliberatives,  the 
dissent  of  either  of  which  may  defeat  the  plan,  and  leave 
these  states,  at  this  early  period  of  their  existence,  in- 
volved in  all  the  disgrace  and  mischiefs  of  violated  faith  and 
national  bankruptcy.  And  whereas,  notwithstanding  we 
have,  by  the  blessing  of  Providence,  so  far  happily  es- 
caped the  complicated  dangers  of  such  a  situation,  and 


HAMILTON.  237 

now  seethe  object  of  our  wishes  secured  by  an  honourable 
peace,  it  would  be  unwise  to  hazard  a  repetition  of  the 
same  dangers  and  embarrassments,  in  any  future  war  in 
which  these  states  may  be  engaged,  or  to  continue  this  ex- 
tensive empire  under  a  government  unequal  to  its  protec- 
tion and  prosperity.  And  whereas,  it  is  essential  to  the 
happiness  and  security  of  these  states,  that  their  union 
should  be  established  on  the  most  solid  foundations,  and  it 
is  manifest  that  this  desirable  object  cannot  be  effected  but 
by  a  GOVERNMENT,  capable,  both  in  peace  and  war,  of 
making  every  member  of  the  union  contribute  in  just 
proportion  to  the  common  necessities,  and  of  combining 
and  directing  the  forces  and  wills  of  the  several  parts  to  a 
general  end ;  to  which  purposes,  in  the  opinion  of  con- 
gress, the  present  confederation  is  altogeter  inadequate. 
And  whereas,  on  the  spirit  which  may  direct  the  coun- 
cils and  measures  of  these  states,  at  the  present  juncture, 
may  depend  their  future  safety  and  welfare — Congress 
conceive  it  to  be  their  duty,  freely  to  state  to  their  constit- 
uents the  defects  which,  by  experience,  have  been  discov- 
ered in  the  present  plan  of  the  federal  union,  and  solemn- 
ly to  call  their  attention  to  a  revisal  and  amendment  of 
the  same.  Therefore  resolved,  That  it  be  earnestly  recom- 
mended to  the  several  states  to  appoint  a  convention,  to 

meet  at on  the day  of ,  with  full  powers  to 

revise  the  confederation,  and  to  adopt  and  propose  such 
alterations  as  to  them  shall  appear  necessary,  to  be  finally 
approved  or  rejected  by  the  states  respectively — and  that 

a  committee  of be  appointed  to  prepare  an  address 

upon  the  subject." 

These  resolutions,  as  appears  from  a  communication  to 
General  Washington,  Hamilton  prepared  with  a  view  to 
an  address  from  congress  as  soon  as  they  had  ratified  the 
definitive  treaty.  "  In  a  letter,"  he  says,  "  which  I  wrote 
to  you  several  months  ago,  I  intimated  that  it  might  be  in 


THE    LIFE    OF 


your  power  to  contribute  to  the  establishment  of  our  fede- 
ral union  upon  a  more  solid  basis.  I  have  never  since  ex- 
plained myself.  At  the  time,  I  was  in  hopes  congress 
might  have  been  induced  to  take  a  decisive  ground,  to  in- 
form their  constituents  of  the  imperfections  of  the  present 
system,  and  of  the  impossibility  of  conducting  the  public 
affairs  with  honour  to  themselves  and  advantage  to  the 
community,  with  powers  so  disproportioned  to  their  re- 
sponsibility ;  and  having  done  this  in  a  full  and  forcible 
manner,  to  adjourn  the  moment  the  definitive  treaty  was 
ratified.  In  retiring  at  the  same  juncture,  I  wished  you 
in  a  solemn  manner  to  declare  to  the  people  your  intended 
retreat  from  public  concerns ;  your  opinion  of  the  present 
government,  and  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  change. 
Before  I  left  congress  I  despaired  of  the  first,  and  your 
circular  letter  to  the  states  had  anticipated  the  last. 

"I  trust  it  will  not  be  without  effect,  though  I  am  per- 
suaded it  would  have  had  more,  combined  with  what  I 
have  mentioned  ;  at  all  events,  without  compliment,  sir,  it 
will  do  you  honour  with  the  sensible  and  wrell-meaning, 
and  ultimately,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  with  the  people  at  large, 
when  the  present  epidemic  frenzy  has  subsided." 

With  this  purpose,  not  less  grand  in  the  conception 
than  in  the  mode  in  which  it  was  to  be  effected,  Hamilton 
closed  his  career  in  congress. 


HAMILTON.  239 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

[1783.] 

A  rumour  that  the  definitive  treaty  had  been  received, 
led  to  a  request  that  Hamilton  would  remain  in  congress 
a  few  days.  The  apprehensions  he  had  entertained  of 
obstacles  to  its  conclusion  being  thus  dispelled,  he  was 
much  elated  with  the  event,  and  with  the  prospect,  after  so 
long  a  public  career,  of  enjoying  the  repose  of  private  life. 

"  I  am  strongly  urged,"  he  wrote  to  his  wife,  "  to  stay  a 
few  days  for  the  ratification  of  the  treaty ;  at  all  events, 
however,  I  will  not  be  long  from  you.  I  give  you  joy 
of  the  happy  conclusion  of  this  important  work  in  which 
your  countiy  has  been  engaged.  Now,  in  a  very  short 
time,  I  hope  we  shall  be  happily  settled  in  New- York. 
My  love  to  your  father.  Kiss  my  boy  a  thousand  times. 
A  thousand  loves  to  yourself." 

This  information  proving  to  be  erroneous,  he  proceed- 
ed by  an  interior  route  to  Albany,  where  he  remained 
until  the  evacuation  of  New-York  in  November. 

What  a  tide  of  thoughts  must  have  passed  through  his 
mind  as  he  now  sailed  the  tranquil  Hudson,  on  whose 
margin  he  passed  many  of  his  happiest  after  hours,  and 
breathed  his  latest  sigh  !  How  changed  his  present  from 
his  former  feelings,  when  hastening  along  its  alarmed  bor- 
ders on  his  lonely,  anxious  way — amid  deserted  dwellings, 
forsaken  fields,  a  discordant  population — to  extort  reluc- 
tant aid  from  Gates,  he  detected  those  incipient  intrigues 
which  would  have  lost  Washington  to  his  country  ! 

Where,  before,  the  timid  shallop  rarely  ventured  to  dart 


240  THE    LIFE    OP 

its  course  across  the  mournful  stream,  was  now  seen  the 
bold  canvass  of  its  unrivalled  craft  wafting  to  their  libera- 
ted mart  its  joyous  fugitives ;  each  point  and  inlet,  as  he 
passed,  reviving  some  incident  of  his  own  eventful  career, 
or  of  his  country's  glorious  history. 

Poughkeepsie  would  recall  the  moment,  when,  in  concert 
with  Schuyler,  were  framed  those  memorable  resolutions, 
the  first  to  recommend  a  general  convention  to  establish  a 
constitution.  Approaching  Fishkill,  he  would  recur  to  the 
time  when,  with  early  wisdom,  he  portrayed  the  evils  of  a 
weak  and  the  blessings  of  an  efficient  government.  As  his 
eye  turned  upon  the  heights  of  Newburgh,  now  gleaming 
in  the  morning  sun,  he  would  behold,  as  it  were  again,  the 
dark  cloud  which  hung  threatening  over  his  companions 
in  arms,  ready  to  burst  and  overwhelm  them,  until  dissipa- 
ted by  his  powerful  interposition.  West  Point,  crowned 
with  autumnal  gloom,  spoke  of  the  weary  hours  of  anxious 
consultation  with  his  chief,  the  marked  victim  of  a  deep  laid 
treason.  The  detection,  the  pursuit,  the  escape  of  Arnold, 
were  all  before  him.  Beyond,  the  scene  of  Andre's  fate, 
immortalized  by  the  touching  narrative  which  would  have 
veiled  his  error  with  his  misfortunes.  The  humble  ferry- 
house  at  Greensburgh  would  awaken  happier  associations, 
where,  retiring  in  the  pride  of  a  manly  temper  from  the 
family  of  Washington,  he  devoted  his  first  leisure  to  those 
capacious  plans  of  national  polity  which  placed  him  in 
early  manhood  among  the  foremost  sages  of  the  revolution. 
And  now,  New- York  opened  before  him  in  all  the  often 
recollected  magnificence  of  its  capacious  bay,  its  world-in- 
viting waters,  its  peaceful  shores,  its  guardian  isles,  whence 
proudly  rose  against  the  evening  sky,  the  flag  of  the  Union, 
announcing  that  the  conflict  was  over,  and  seeming  to  in- 
vite him  to  new  triumphs  in  this  much-loved  scene  of  his 
youthful  imaginings,  efforts,  and  distinctions.  Cordial  were 
the  greetings  of  this  grateful  city,  as  it  welcomed,  in  its 


HAMILTON.  241 

once  stranger  boy,  the  now  powerful  advocate  of  mercy 
to  its  apprehensive  denizens,  hastening  to  shield  them  from 
persecution  for  the  venial  offence  of  mistaken  loyalty. 

The  impression  which  his  congressional  career  had  pro- 
duced, is  shown  in  the  letters  received  by  him  at  this  time. 

McHenry,  who  had  recently  taken  a  seat  in  congress, 
writes : — 

Princeton,  Oct.  22,  1783. 
DEAR  HAMILTON, 

The  homilies  you  delivered  in  congress,  are  still  recol- 
lected with  pleasure.  The  impressions  they  made,  are  in 
favour  of  your  integrity,  and  no  one  but  believes  you  a  man 
of  honour  and  republican  principles.  Were  you  ten  years 
older,  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  richer,  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  you  might  obtain  the  suffrages  of  congress  for  the 
highest  office  in  their  gift.  You  are  supposed  to  possess 
various  knowledge,  useful,  substantial,  and  ornamental. 
Your  very  grave,  and  your  cautious — your  men  who  meas- 
ure others  by  the  standard  of  their  own  creeping  politics, 
think  you  sometimes  intemperate,  but  seldom  visionary, 
and  that  were  you  to  pursue  your  object  with  as  much 
cold  perseverance  as  you  do  with  ardour  and  argument, 
you  would  become  irresistible. 

In  a  word,  if  you  could  submit  to  spend  a  whole  life  in 
dissecting  a  fly,  you  would  be,  in  their  opinion,  one  of  the 
greatest  men  in  the  world.  Bold  designs — measures  calcu- 
lated for  their  rapid  execution — a  wisdom  that  would  con- 
vince, from  its  own  weight — a  project  that  would  surprise 
the  people  into  greater  happiness,  without  giving  them  an 
opportunity  to  view  it  and  reject  it — are  not  adapted  to  a 
council  composed  of  discordant  materials,  or  to  a  people 
which  have  thirteen  heads, each  of  which  pays  superstitious 
adorations  to  inferior  divinities. 

I  have  reported  on  Fleury's  case  on  the  principle  you 
recommend.  I  fear  his  half-pay  will  not  be  granted. 

31 


242  THE    LIFE    OF 

Adieu,  my  dear  friend,  and  in  the  days  of  your  happiness 
drop  a  line  to  your 

McHENRY. 

P.  S. — Our  exemplification  of  the  treaty  has  passed,  and 
will  be  transmitted  to  the  state  officially. 

The  other  was  from  Jay,  at  Passy : — 

"  DEAR  SIR, 

"  You  was  always  of  the  number  of  those  I  esteemed, 
and  your  correspondence  would  be  both  interesting  and 
agreeable.  I  had  heard  of  your  marriage,  and  it  gave  me 
pleasure,  as  well  because  it  added  to  your  happiness,  as 
because  it  tended  to  fix  your  residence  in  a  state  of  which 
I  long  wished  you  to  be  and  remain  a  citizen. 

"  The  character  and  talents  of  delegates  to  congress 
daily  become  more  and  more  important,  and  I  regret  your 
declining  that  appointment  at  this  interesting  period.  Re- 
spect, however,  is  due  to  the  considerations  which  influ- 
ence you ;  but  as  they  do  not  oppose  your  accepting  a 
place  in  the  legislature,  I  hope  the  state  will  still  con- 
tinue to  derive  advantage  from  your  services :  much  re- 
mains to  be  done,  and  labourers  do  not  abound. 

"  I  am  happy  to  hear  that  the  terms  of  peace  and  the 
conduct  of  your  negotiators  give  general  satisfaction. 
But  there  are  some  of  our  countrymen,  it  seems,  who  are 
not  content,  and  that  too  with  an  article  which  I  thought 
to  be  very  unexceptionable,  viz :  the  one  ascertaining  our 
boundaries.  Perhaps  those  gentlemen  are  latitudinarians. 

"  The  American  newspapers  for  some  months  past  con- 
tain advices  which  do  us  harm  ;  violences  and  associations 
against  the  tories  pay  an  ill  compliment  to  government, 
and  impeach  our  good  faith  in  the  opinion  of  some,  and 
our  magnanimity  in  the  opinion  of  many.  Our  reputa- 


HAMILTON.  243 

tion,  also,  suffers  from  the  apparent  reluctance  to  taxes, 
and  the  ease  with  which  we  incur  debts  without  providing 
for  their  payment.  The  complaints  of  the  army — the 
jealousies  respecting  congress — the  circumstances  which 
induced  their  leaving  Philadelphia — and  the  too  little  ap- 
pearance of  national  spirit  pervading,  uniting,  and  invigo- 
rating the  confederacy,  are  considered  as  omens  which 
portend  the  diminution  of  our  respectability,  power,  and 
felicity.  I  hope  that  as  the  wheel  turns  round,  other  and 
better  indications  will  soon  appear.  I  am  persuaded  that 
America  possesses  too  much  wisdom  and  virtue  to  permit 
her  brilliant  prospects  to  fade  away  for  want  of  either. 

"  The  tories  are  almost  as  much  pitied  in  these  coun- 
tries as  they  are  execrated  in  ours ;  an  undue  degree  of 
severity  towards  them  would,  therefore,  be  impolitic,  as  it 
would  be  unjustifiable.  They  who  incline  to  involve  that 
whole  class  of  men  in  indiscriminate  punishment  and  ruin, 
certainly  carry  the  matter  too  far.  It  would  be  an  in- 
stance of  unnecessary  rigour  and  unmanly  revenge,  with- 
out a  parallel,  except  in  the  annals  of  religious  rage  in 
times  of  bigotry  and  blindness.  What  does  it  signify 
where  nine-tenths  of  these  people  are  buried  ?  Victory 
and  peace  should  in  my  opinion  be  followed  by  clemency, 
moderation,  and  benevolence,  and  we  should  be  careful 
not  to  sully  the  glory  of  the  revolution  by  licentiousness 
and  cruelty.  These  are  my  sentiments,  and  however  un- 
popular they  may  be,  I  have  not  the  least  desire  to  conceal 
or  disguise  them.  Believe  me  to  be,  with  great  regard 
and  esteem." 

Notwithstanding  urgent  solicitations,  Hamilton  adhered 
to  his  purpose  of  retiring  wholly  from  public  life,  and  was 
soon  immersed  in  the  labours  of  his  profession ;  in  which, 
without  the  advantages  of  much  previous  study,  by  the 
energies  of  a  mind  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  analysis  of  first 


244  THE   LIFE   OF 

principles,  he  rose  to  an  unequalled,  unapproached  dis- 
tinction. 

His  letter  to  McHenry  was  written  to  obtain  an  exem- 
plification of  the  treaty.  The  state  of  New- York  was 
ruled  at  this  time  by  cruel  counsels.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  doubt  as  to  the  period  of  its  execution,  it  passed 
laws  in  direct  violation  of  this  treaty,  and,  in  despite  of  the 
most  earnest  intercessions,  refused  to  stay  the  prosecutions 
commenced  against  proscribed  persons.  Shocked  at  these 
proceedings,  Hamilton  took  up  the  cause  of  these  perse- 
cuted individuals  with  all  the  zeal  of  his  boundless  benevo- 
lence. 

The  definitive  treaty  having  arrived,  he  addressed  a 
memorial  to  congress  asking  a  record  of  it ;  in  which,  to 
prompt  its  immediate  ratification,  he  stated  that  there  ap- 
peared to  be  no  probability  that  the  legislature  will  inter- 
pose its  authority  to  stay  the  prosecutions  until  it  is  an- 
nounced ;  a  measure  that  would  "  conduce  to  the  security 
of  a  great  number  of  individuals  who  derive  their  hopes 
of  safety  from  the  national  faith." 

Hamilton  now  commenced  his  professional  career ;  and 
it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  that  career, 
that  the  first  exertion  of  his  talents  as  an  advocate,  was  in 
the  cause  of  clemency  and  good  faith.  It  was  in  the  in- 
most privacy  of  his  quiet  hours,  reflecting  on  such  exer- 
tions, that  he  exclaimed,  "  The  Almighty  has  given  me  a 
good  head,  and  thank  God,  he  has  also  given  me  a  good 
heart." 

This  was  a  suit  in  the  mayor's  court  of  the  city  of  New- 
York,  to  recover  the  rents  of  property  held  by  the  defend- 
ant under  an  order  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  was  found- 
ed on  a  recent  enactment  called  "  The  Trespass  Act." 
This  act  authorized  an  action  of  trespass  in  favour  of  per- 
sons who  had  left  their  abodes  in  consequence  of  the 
invasion  of  the  enemy,  against  those  who  had  been  in  pos- 


HAMILTON.  245 

session  of  them  during  the  war,  and  expressly  precluded  a 
justification  of  this  occupancy  by  virtue  of  a  military  or- 
der. It  was  contended  that  the  case  was  not  within  the 
statute ;  that  the  laws  of  nations  controlled  it  and  barred 
the  suit,  and  that  the  treaty  included  an  amnesty,  which 
extinguished  the  statute  right. 

No  precedent,  it  is  believed,  exists  for  such  an  act  of 
legislation;  an  act  providing  that  after  a  war  solemnly 
terminated  by  a  treaty  duly  executed,  suits  could  be  com- 
menced by  the  subjects  of  one  belligerent  against  those 
of  another  for  injuries  committed  during  the  war  by  mili- 
tary order. 

No  case  could  have  arisen  of  greater  interest,  higher 
moment,  or  larger  considerations.  It  was  a  question  of 
national  faith  and  national  character — it  was  a  question 
between  the  subjects  of  two  independent  nations,  relating 
to  transactions  in  a  war  between  those  nations. 

It  involved  a  determination  of  the  powers  of  the  con- 
federacy, and  of  its  constitutional  supremacy  over  a  law 
of  a  member  of  that  confederacy.  It  was  of  the  most 
grave  and  weighty  magnitude,  for  it  would  decide  wheth- 
er a  state  tribunal  would  recognise  the  laws  of  nations  and 
of  the  confederation  as  the  rule  of  its  decisions  when  in 
conflict  with  a  local  statute.  It  might  determine  the  con- 
duct of  Great  Britain  as  to  the  execution  of  the  treaty,  the 
surrender  of  the  posts,  and  the  peace  of  the  union. 

It  involved  property  of  a  great  amount,  and  numerous 
cases  depending  on  the  same  principle.  It  was  the  deci- 
sion of  a  controversy  between  a  wealthy  merchant — a 
British  subject,  an  adherent  of  the  enemy — and  a  fugitive, 
an  exile,  a  poor  American  widow,  impoverished  by  the 
war.  It  was  tried  while  the  strife  of  the  fierce  contest 
was  recent,  in  the  midst  of  a  dilapidated  and  yet  disorder- 
ed city,  when  all  around  were  beheld  the  ravages  of  the 
invader,  in  a  hall  of  justice  desecrated  and  marred  by 


246  THE    LIFE    Of 

the  excesses  of  its  late  occupants,  a  licentious  soldiery. 
On  one  side  was  the  attorney-general  of  the  state,  armed 
with  all  its  authority  to  sustain  its  laws,  representing  the 
passions  of  an  inflamed  community,  pleading  for  the 
widowed  exile.  On  the  other  stood  Hamilton,  resting  on 
the  justice  of  this  mighty  cause. 

The  plaintiff's  task  was  obvious.  It  was  to  insist  upon 
the  statute.  The  statute  was  explicit.  Both  the  parties 
were  within  its  provisions.  It  was  obligatory,  and  no 
court  of  that  state,  no  court  especially  of  limited  jurisdic- 
tion, could  look  beyond  it.  Look  where  ?  To  the  laws 
of  nations, — laws  having  no  settled  foundation,  undergo- 
ing constant  change,  affording  no  certain  rule,  and  which 
ought  to  have  no  influence  on  the  government  of  this  state 
or  upon  the  people.  The  war  was  unjust,  admitted  by 
the  enemy  to  be  unjust.  By  an  unjust  war,  the  unjust 
party  acquires  no  rights,  for  no  rights  can  be  derived  from 
an  injury.  It  was  not  a  solemn  war,  and  therefore  con- 
ferred no  rights  upon  the  captor.  Nor  was  that  court  to 
be  controlled  by  the  treaty.  New- York  was  a  sovereign, 
independent  state.  Congress  had  no  right  to  bind  the 
state  in  this  matter ;  it  was  interfering  with  its  internal 
police.  Can  they  by  treaty  give  away  the  rights  of  its 
citizens  ?  A  case  like  this  had  never  before  been  heard 
of.  It  was  without  a  precedent,  and  stood  upon  the  sta- 
tute. 

Hamilton  felt  the  advantageous  position  of  his  oppo- 
nent. He  passed  by  the  immediate  parties  to  the  suit,  and 
spoke  to  the  question.  In  a  brilliant  exordium,*  he  dila- 
ted on  its  importance  in  all  its  various  aspects  ;  declared 
that  the  decision  might  affect  all  the  relations  of  two  great 
empires,  might  be  discussed  in  Europe,  and  might  produce, 


*  The  outline  of  this  speech  is  framed  from  an  extended  brief,  giving  all 
the  points  of  the  argument  and  the  authorities. 


HAMILTON.  247 

according  to  the  issue,  a  good  or  bad  impression  of  our 
country.  It  would  establish  precedents  that  might  give  a 
complexion  to  future  decisions,  would  remain  a  record  of 
the  spirit  of  our  courts,  and  would  be  handed  down  to 
posterity  as  indicating  the  character  of  our  jurisprudence. 
It  was  a  question  of  a  most  comprehensive  nature ;  its 
merits  include  all  the  principles  which  govern  the  inter- 
course between  nations.  Heretofore  our  courts  have 
seemed  to  consider  themselves  in  an  inferior  light ;  their 
decisions  must  hereafter  form  precedents. 

Having  thus  appealed  to  the  pride  of  the  court,  he  pro- 
ceeded : — "  We  are  told  there  is  no  precedent.  Then,  in- 
deed, it  is  a  new  case,  and  a  new  case  must  be  determined 
by  the  law  of  nature  and  the  public  good.  Where  the 
law  is  silent,  the  judge  speaks ;  and  the  most  ancient  au- 
thority states  that  in  England  cases  were  adjudged  accord- 
ing to  equity,  before  the  customs  of  the  realm  were  writ- 
ten and  made  certain.  This  question  must  be  decided  by 
the  laws  of  nations.  But  what,  it  is  asked,  are  the  laws  of 
nations?  Where  are  they  to  be  found? — They  are  the 
deductions  of  reason,  to  be  collected  from  the  principles 
laid  down  by  writers  on  the  subject  and  established  by 
the  authorized  practice  of  nations,  and  are  a  part  of  the 
law  of  the  land.  The  laws  of  nations  and  the  laws  of 
war  are  part  of  the  common  law." 

He  then  stated  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  laws  of 
nations.  The  natural,  necessary,  or  internal,  universally 
binding  on  the  conscience  of  nations ;  but  in  its  external 
obligations,  controlled  by  the  positive  or  voluntary  law 
for  the  good  of  mankind,  which  is  equally  obligatory,  and 
is  enjoined  by  the  natural  law. 

By  the  necessary  law,  the  party  making  an  unjust  war 
acquires  no  rights,  and  is  bound  to  make  reparation  for  all 
damages.  By  the  voluntary  law — which  may  be  defined, 
that  system  of  rules  which  grow  out  of  the  independence 


248  THE    LIFE    OP 

of  distinct  political  associations,  qualifying  their  natural 
rights  as  individuals — both  parties  have  equal  rights,  hav- 
ing no  common  judge ;  and  the  effects  of  a  war  on  both 
sides,  are  the  same. 

These  effects  are  principally  impunity,  the  acquisition 
of  property ;  a  rule  established  to  promote  the  general 
j>eace  of  mankind,  by  removing  discussions  about  the  jus- 
tice of  the  war,  and  the  proportion  of  the  damages  to  the 
injury  and  the  security  of  purchasers,  especially  neutrals. 

But  it  is  objected,  this  was  not  a  solemn  war.  The  ap- 
proved practice  of  nations  is  against  this  objection.  But 
it  was  a  solemn  war.  Formalities  are  arbitrary — an  act 
of  parliament  authorized  hostilities.  The  declaration  of 
independence  speaks  of  an  open  war  subsisting.  Congress 
formally  authorized  our  citizens  to  cruise.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  state  of  New- York  has  no  common  law  of 
nations.  The  answer  is,  that  law  results  from  the  relations 
of  universal  society — that  our  constitution  admits  the 
common  law,  of  which  the  law  of  nations  is  a  part — and 
that  the  United  States  direct  our  foreign  intercourse,  and 
have  expressly  become  parties  to  the  law  of  nations.  What 
are  the  effects  of  a  war  ?  The  general  proposition  is,  that 
movable  goods  belong  to  the  captor  forever,  as  soon  as 
the  battle  is  over ;  the  fruits  of  immovables,  while  they  are 
in  possession.  Other  rules  have  been  laid  down  with  re- 
spect to  movables  ;  but  the  true  rule  is,  the  battle  being 
over.  The  ancient  precedents  of  pleading  are  not  that 
the  prize  remained  a  night  with  the  enemy,  but  that  it  was 
gained  by  battle  of  the  enemy ;  and  pleading  is  the  touch- 
stone of  the  law.  The  common  law  carries  the  rights  of 
war  so  far  as  to  give  property  in  a  prisoner,  and  an  action 
of  trespass  for  taking  him  away.  Hence,  we  see  the  com- 
mon law  not  only  adopts  the  law  of  nations  in  its  full  ex- 
tent as  a  general  doctrine,  but  particular  adjudications 
recognise  the  operation  of  capture. 


HAMILTON.  249 

The  second  branch  of  the  discussion  related  to  the  effect 
of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  tended  to  show  that  this  action 
could  not  be  maintained  without  a  violation  of  the  treaty ; 
every  treaty  of  peace  including  an  amnesty,  which  is  of 
its  very  essence,  between  private  persons  as  well  as  the 
contending  publics.  To  the  objection,  that  congress  had 
no  right  to  bind  the  state,  that  it  was  meddling  with  its  in- 
ternal police,  he  replied,  that  on  that  construction,  "  the 
confederation  was  the  shadow  of  a  shade  ;"  but  that  con- 
gress had  an  unquestionable  right ;  that  "  the  sovereignty 
and  independence  of  the  people  began  by  a  federal  act ; 
that  our  external  sovereignty  is  only  known  in  the  union — 
that  foreign  nations  only  recognise  it  in  the  union ;  that  the 
declaration  of  independence  was  the  fundamental  consti- 
tution of  every  state,  all  of  which  was  acceded  to  by  the 
convention  of  New- York,  which  does  not  pretend  to  au- 
thenticate the  act,  but  only  to  give  their  approbation  to  it :" 
that  hence  it  followed, "  that  congress  had  complete  sover- 
eignty ;  that  the  union  was  known  and  legalized  in  the 
constitution  of  New- York  previous  to  the  confederation, 
and  that  the  first  act  of  the  state  government  adopted  it  as 
a  fundamental  law  ;  from  which  reflections,"  he  says,  "  we 
are  taught  to  respect  the  sovereignty  of  the  union,  and  to 
consider  its  constitutional  powers  as  not  controllable  by 
any  state." 

The  confederation  is  an  abridgment  of  those  powers ; 
but,  mutilating  as  it  is,  it  leaves  congress  the  full  and  ex- 
clusive powers  of  war,  peace,  and  treaty.  The  power  of 
making  peace,  is  the  power  of  determining  its  conditions. 
It  is  a  rule  of  reason  and  law,  that  to  whomsoever  any 
thing  is  granted,  that  also  is  granted  without  which  it  can- 
not exist.  If  congress  have  not  a  power  to  adjust  an 
equivalent  for  damages  sustained,  and  remit  the  rest,  they 
have  no  power  to  make  peace.  It  is  true  that  this  power 


32 


250  THE    LIFE    OF 

does  not  permit  the  making  all  possible  conditions, — snch 
as  dismembering  the  empire,  or  surrendering  the  liberties 
of  the  people ;  but  it  includes  the  power  of  making  all  rea- 
sonable and  usual  conditions— such  is  a  remission  of  dam- 
ages,— for  without  it  the  state  of  war  continues. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  how  can  congress,  by  treaty,  give 
away  the  rights  of  citizens  of  New- York  ?  To  this  I  an- 
swer— First,  that  the  citizens  of  New- York  gave  them 
power  to  do  it  for  their  own  safety — Secondly,  that  the 
power  results  from  this  principle  of  all  governments :  that 
the  property  of  all  the  individuals  of  a  state  is  the  property 
of  the  state  itself,  in  regard  to  other  nations.  Hence,  an 
injury  from  the  government  gives  a  right  to  take  away,  in 
war,  the  property  of  its  innocent  subjects.  Hence,  also, 
the  claim  of  damages  for  injuries  done  is  in  the  public,  who 
may  agree  for  an  equivalent,  or  release  the  claim  without 
it;  and,  our  external  sovereignty  existing  in  the  union, 
the  property  of  all  the  citizens,  in  regard  to  foreign  states, 
belongs  to  the  United  States,  as  a  consequence  of  what  is 
called  the  eminent  domain.  Hence,  to  make  the  defend- 
ant answerable,  would  be  a  breach  of  the  treaty  of  peace. 
It  would  be  a  breach,  also,  of  the  confederation.  Con- 
gress have  the  exclusive  right  of  war  and  peace.  Congress 
have  made  a  treaty  of  peace,  pursuant  to  their  power ;  a 
breach  of  the  treaty  is  a  violation  of  their  constitutional 
authority,  and  a  breach  of  the  confederation.  The  power 
of  congress  in  making  treaties,  is  of  a  legislative  kind : 
their  proclamation  enjoining  the  observance  of  it  is  a  law, 
and  a  law  paramount  to  that  of  any  particular  state.  But 
it  is  said, "  the  sovereign  authority  may,  for  reasons  of  state, 
violate  its  treaties,  and  the  laws  in  violation  of  them  bind 
its  own  subjects.  This  allegation  goes  on  bold  ground, 
that  the  legislature  intended  to  violate  the  treaty.  But  I 
aver  that  in  our  constitution  it  is  not  true  that  the  sover- 


HAMILTON.  251 

eignty  of  any  one  state  has  legally  this  power.  Each  state 
has  delegated  all  power  of  this  kind  to  congress.  They 
are  equally  to  judge  of  the  necessity  of  breaking,  as  of  the 
propriety  of  making,  treaties." 

"  The  legislature  of  any  one  state  has  nothing  to  do  with 
what  are  called  '  reasons  of  state.'  We  might  as  well  say 
a  particular  county  has  a  right  to  alter  the  laws  of  the  state, 
as  a  particular  state  the  laws  of  the  confederation.  It  has 
been  said,  and  it  may  be  said  again,  that  the  legislature 
may  alter  the  laws  of  nations.  But  this  is  not  true  in  the- 
ory, nor  is  it  constitutional  in  our  government ;  for  con- 
gress have  the  exclusive  direction  of  our  foreign  affairs,  and 
of  all  matters  relating  to  the  law  of  nations.  No  single 
state  has  any  legal  jurisdiction  to  alter  them. 

"  It  may  again  be  said,  that  the  accession  to  the  confed- 
eration was  an  act  of  our  legislature.  Why  may  not  an- 
other act  alter  or  dissolve  it  ?  I  answer,  it  is  not  true  ;  for 
the  union  is  known  in  our  constitution  as  ,pre-existing. 
The  act  of  confederation  is  a  modification  and  abridgment 
of  federal  authority  by  the  original  compact 

"  But  if  this  were  not  the  case,  the  reasoning  would  not 
apply.  For  this  government,  in  acceding  to  the  confeder- 
ation, is  to  be  considered,  not  as  a  sovereign  enacting  a  law, 
but  as  a  party  to  a  contract ;  as  a  member  of  a  more  ex- 
tensive community  agreeing  to  a  constitution  of  govern- 
ment. It  is  absurd  to  say.  one  of  the  parties  to  a  contract 
may.  at  pleasure,  alter  it  without  the  consent  of  the  others. 
It  will  not  be  denied  that  a  part  of  an  empire  may,  in  cer- 
tain cases,  dismember  itself  from  the  rest.  But  this  sup- 
poses a  dissolution  of  the  original  compact.  While  the 
confederation  exists,  a  law  of  a  particular  state  derogating 
from  its  constitutional  authority  is  no  Jaw.  But  how,  you 
ask,  are  the  judges  to  decide  ?  they  are  servants  of  the 
state.  I  answer,  the  confederation  vesting  no  judicial 


252  THE    LIFE    OP 

powers  in  congress,  excepting  in  prize  causes,  in  all  other 
matters  the  judges  of  each  state  must  of  necessity  be  judges 
of  the  United  States,  and  they  must  take  notice  of  the  law 
of  congress  as  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  land.  For  it  must 
be  conceded,  that  the  legislature  of  one  state  cannot  repeal 
a  law  of  the  United  States. 

"  What  is  to  be  done  in  such  a  case  ?  It  is  a  rule  of  law, 
/  that  when  there  are  two  laws,  one  not  repealing  the  other, 
expressly  or  virtually,  the  judges  must  construe  them  so  as 
to  make  them  stand  together.  That  golden  rule  of  the 
Roman  orator  may  be  applied :  '  Primum  igitur  leges 
oportet  contendere  considerando  utra  lex  ad  majores,  hoc 
est  ad  utiliores,  ad  honestiores  ac  magis  necessarias  res  perti- 
nent. Ex  quo  conficiscitur  utsi  leges  duae  aut  si  plures  aut 
quotcunque  erunt  conservari  non  possint  quia  discrepent 
inter  se,  ea  maxime  conservanda  putetur  quae  ad  maxi- 
mas  res  pertinere  videntur' — 'Where  two  or  more  laws 
clash,  that  which  relates  to  the  most  important  concerns 
ought  to  prevail.' 

"  Many  of  these  arguments  are  on  the  supposition,  that 
the  trespass  act  cannot  stand  with  the  laws  of  nations  and 
the  treaty.  It  may,  however,  legally  receive  such  a  con- 
struction as  will  stand  with  all ;  and  to  give  it  this  con- 
struction is  precisely  the  duty  of  the  court.  We  have  seen 
that  to  make  the  defendant  liable,  would  be  to  violate  the 
laws  of  nations,  and  forfeit  our  character  as  a  civilized 
people  ;  to  violate  a  solemn  treaty  of  peace,  and  revive  the 
state  of  hostility ;  to  infringe  the  confederation  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  endanger  the  peace  of  the  whole.  Can  we 
suppose  all  this  to  have  been  intended  by  the  legislature  ? 
The  answer  is, '  the  law  cannot  suppose  it :  if  it  were  in- 
tended, the  act  is  void.' " 

He  then  proceeded  to  state  rules  for  the  construction  of 
statutes,  which  rendered  this  extremity  unnecessary,  quo- 


HAMILTON.  253 

ting  the  observation  of  Cato,  "  Leges  enim  ipsae  cupiunt 
ut  jure  regantur." 

The  argument  extended  to  an  examination  of  the  juris- 
diction of  the  court,  and  to  a  minute  investigation  of  the 
distinctions  to  be  taken  between  citizens  and  British  sub- 
jects, claiming  the  protection  of  the  law  of  nations.  It 
closed  with  a  strong  exposure  of  the  criminality  of  the 
procedure,  and  with  a  vehement  exhortation  to  preserve 
the  confederation  and  the  national  faith ;  quoting  the 
beautiful  apothegm  of  Seneca,  "  Fides  sanctificissimum  hu- 
mani  pectoris  bonum  est." 

Amidst  all  the  refinements  which  have  been  resorted  to 
in  order  to  impair  the  powers  of  the  constitution,  and  to 
construe  it  as  a  compact  of  states,  revocable  at  the  will  of 
either  of  the  contracting  parties,  it  is  deeply  interesting 
to  advert  to  this  early  exposition  of  the  true  principles  of 
the  American  union.  An  union  formed  indeed  by  com- 
pact, but  by  a  compact  between  the  people  of  these 
colonies  with  every  individual  colonist  before  the  ex- 
istence of  states  ;  recognised  by  the  people  of  each 
state,  in  their  state  constitutions  ;  confirmed  by  them 
as  states,  in  the  articles  of  confederation  ;  and  sub- 
sequently "perfected"  in  a  constitution  ordained  and 
established  by  the  people  "  for  the  United  States  of 
America." 

The  result  of  this  argument  was  a  triumph  of  right  over 
usurpation.  The  decision  indicates  the  difficulties  with 
which  the  defendant  contended  ;  but  the  force  of  the 
treaty  to  overrule  the  inhibition  against  pleading  a  milita- 
ry order,  was  admitted.  The  court  also  declared — "  Our 
union,  as  has  been  properly  observed,  is  known,  and  le- 
galized in  our  constitution,  and  adopted  as  a  fundamental 
law  in  the  first  act  of  our  legislature.  The  federal  com- 
pact hath  vested  congress  with  full  and  exclusive  powers 


254  THE    LIFE   OP 

to  make  peace  and  war.  This  treaty  they  have  made 
and  ratified,  and  rendered  its  obligation  perpetual ;  and 
we  are  clearly  of  opinion,  that  no  state  in  this  union  can 
alter  or  abridge,  in  a  single  point,  the  federal  articles  or 
the  treaty." 

This  decision  is  the  more  meritorious,  because  made  by 
judges  holding  by  a  temporary  tenure,  soon  after  the  ses- 
sion of  a  legislature  which  had  shown  a  fixed  purpose  to 
persevere  in  their  odious  and  impolitic  violence. 

A  few  days  after  this  judgment  was  rendered,  a  large 
public  meeting  was  convened,*  and  an  address  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  state  was  passed.  This  address,f  after  remark- 
ing on  "  the  immense  ability  and  learning"  of  the  argu- 
ment, exhorted  the  people,  in  their  choice  of  senators,  to 
elect  men  who  would  spurn  any  proposition  that  had  a 
tendency  to  curtail  the  privileges  of  the  people,  and  who 
would  protect  them  from  judicial  tyranny.  "  Having  con- 
fined themselves,"  it  stated,  "to  constitutional  measures, 
and  disapproving  all  others,  they  were  free  in  sounding 
the  alarm.  If  their  independence  was  worth  contending 
for  against  a  powerful  and  enraged  monarch,  and  at  the 
expense  of  the  best  blood  of  America,  surely  its  preserva- 
tion was  worth  contending  for  against  those  among  our- 
selves who  might  impiously  hope  to  build  their  greatness 
upon  the  ruins  of  that  fabric  which  was  so  dearly  estab- 
lished." 

The  legislature  assembled  soon  after  this  meeting. 
Without  waiting  the  result  of  an  appeal,  which  the  consti- 
tution secured,  this  decision,  made  in  due  form  of  law,  and 
with  unimpeached  fairness,  was  brought  before  the  assem- 
bly. Resolutions  were  passed,  declaring  it  to  be  subversive 


*  Sept.  13th,  1784. 

t  It  is  related  to  have  been  from  the  pen  of  Melancton  Smith. 


HAMILTON.  255 

of  all  law  and  good  order,  and  the  council  of  appointment 
were  recommended  at  their  next  session, "  to  appoint  such 
persons  mayor  and  recorder  of  New- York,  as  will  gov- 
ern themselves  by  the  known  law  of  the  land." 

The  ability  displayed  by  Hamilton  on  these  occasions, 
his  liberal  views  and  distinguished  probity,  gathered  around  ' 
him  the  enthusiastic  confidence  and  affection  of  the  better 
part  of  his  fellow-citizens ;  and  at  a  time  when  the  judicial 
character  of  the  state  was  to  be  formed,  and,  from  the  dis- 
turbed situation  of  the  community,  professional  trusts  were 
of  the  most  important  and  extensive  influence,  he  was  fore- 
most in  endeavouring  to  secure  to  the  laws  an  honest  and 
enlightened  administration. 

This  was  not  an  easy  task.  The  general  relaxation  of 
morals,  an  usual  and  most  lamentable  concomitant  of  war, 
was  attended  with  a  prevailing  disregard  of,  and  disposi- 
tion to  question,  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  In  the  politi- 
cal speculations  to  which  the  revolution  had  given  rise, 
the  sovereignty  of  the  popular  will,  which  was  recognised 
as  the  basis  of  every  proceeding,  was  pushed  to  the  utmost 
extremes  in  its  application  ;  and  wherever  the  operations 
of  the  laws  bore  hard,  in  the  then  unsettled  relations  of 
society,  to  recur  to  the  elementary  principles  of  govern- 
ment, and  resolve  every  rule  by  its  apparent  adaptation  to 
individual  convenience,  was  the  prevailing  tendency  of 
public  opinion.  The  course  of  the  contest,  the  means  by 
which  it  had  been  conducted,  the  extravagant  schemes  it 
had  engendered,  gave  every  citizen  a  strong  personal  in- 
terest in  its  results,  and,  long  before  its  termination,  had 
divided  the  population  into  the  opposite  and  hostile  classes 
of  debtors  and  creditors ;  each  of  which  being  compelled 
to  unite,  either  for  the  common  purpose  of  delaying  or  en- 
forcing justice,  acquired  the  dangerous,  disorganizing,  and 
formidable  character  of  an  intestine  party. 

The  laxity  of  the  national  faith,  as  it  sprung  from,  also 


256  THE    LIFE    OF 

confirmed  this  distinction.  The  loose  opinions  which  had 
gradually  led  on  to  an  unjust  discrimination  between  the 
public  creditors  of  different  descriptions,  soon  took  posses- 
sion of  the  popular  mind,  induced  preferences  equally  un- 
just in  private  affairs,  and  ultimately  prostrated  all  respect 
for  the  obligations  of  contracts,  and  for  the  tribunals  by 
which  they  were  to  be  expounded  and  enforced.  This 
lawless  spirit  which  pervaded  the  country,  was  principally 
shown  in  questions  growing  out  of  the  claims  of  two  class- 
es of  creditors,  whose  situation,  though  totally  different, 
it  was  sought  to  confound, — those  of  British  merchants, 
for  debts  incurred  previous  to  the  revolution,  and  the 
claims  of  the  tories,  either  for  money  due  to  them,  or  for 
lands  of  which  possession  had  been  taken  as  enemies' 
property. 

The  animosity  natural  to  the  combatants  in  a  civil  con- 
flict ;  the  enormities  committed  by  the  refugees,  when  the 
scale  of  war  seemed  to  incline  in  their  favour,  or  where 
they  could  continue  their  molestations  with  impunity  ;  the 
harassing  inroads  and  depredations  which  they  had  made 
on  private  property,  and  on  the  persons  of  non-combatants, 
and  the  harsh  and  cruel  councils  of  which  they  were  too 
often  the  authors,  appeared  to  the  people  at  large  to  sanc- 
tion every  species  of  retaliation,  and  to  place  the  tories  be- 
yond the  pale  of  humanity. 

This  was  merely  the  popular  feeling.  Both  the  govern- 
ments of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  individual  states, 
with  few  exceptions,  resisted  these  attempts,  and  sought 
to  instil  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  forbearance,  becom- 
ing the  victorious  party.  In  the  progress  of  the  conflict, 
and  particularly  in  its  earliest  periods,  attainder  and  confis- 
cation had  been  resorted  to  generally,  throughout  the  conti- 
nent, as  a  means  of  war.  But  it  is  a  fact  important  to  the 
history  of  the  revolting  colonies,  that  the  acts  prescribing 
penalties,  usually  offered  to  the  persons  against  whom  they 


HAMILTON.  257 

were  directed  the  option  of  avoiding  them,  by  acknow- 
ledging their  allegiance  to  the  existing  governments. 

It  was  a  preventive,  not  a  vindictive  policy.  In  the 
same  humane  spirit,  as  the  contest  approached  its  close 
and  the  necessity  of  these  severities  diminished,  many  of 
the  states  passed  laws  offering  pardons  to  those  who  had 
been  disfranchised,  and  restoring  them  to  the  enjoyment 
of  their  property ;  with  such  restrictions  only  as  were 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  their  own  citizens.  In 
others,  different  councils  unfortunately  prevailed.  In  New- 
Jersey,  meetings  were  held  urging  a  non-compliance  with 
the  treaty,  in  consequence  of  the  non-fulfilment  by  Eng- 
land of  the  seventh  article,  stipulating  the  return  of  the 
negroes  and  the  restoration  of  the  posts. 

In  Virginia,*  the  house  of  delegates  resolved,  f  "  That 
confiscation  laws,  being  founded  on  legal  principles,  were 
strongly  dictated  by  that  principle  of  common  justice 
which  demands  that  if  virtuous  citizens,  in  defence  of  their 
natural  rights,  risk  their  life,  liberty,  and  property  on 
their  success  ;  vicious  citizens  who  side  with  tyranny  and 
oppression,  or  cloak  themselves  under  the  mask  of  neu- 
trality, should  at  least  hazard  their  property,  and  not  enjoy 
the  labours  and  dangers  of  those  whose  destruction  they 
wished.  And  it  was  unanimously  declared,  that  all  demands 
and  requests  of  the  British  court  for  the  restitution  of  pro- 
perty confiscated  by  this  state,  being  neither  supported  by 
law,  equity,  or  policy,  are  wholly  inadmissible  ;  and  that 
our  delegates  be  instructed  to  move  congress  that  they 
may  direct  their  delegates,  who  shall  represent  these  states 
in  a  general  congress  for  adjusting  a  peace  or  truce,  nei- 
ther to  agree  to  any  such  restitution,  or  submit  that  the 
laws  made  by  any  independent  state  of  this  union,  be 

*  Almon's  Remembrances,  p.  92,  v.  10,  2d  part, 
t  December  17th,  1782. 

33 


258  THE    LIFE    OP 

subject  to  the  adjudication  of  any  power  or  powers  on 
earth." 

A  proclamation  was  subsequently  issued  by  its  governor, 
enjoining  all  those  who  had  adhered  to  the  enemy  since 
the  nineteenth  April,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-five, 
or  had  been  expelled  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  or  who 
had  borne  arms  against  the  commonwealth,  to  leave  the 
state.  And  an  address  from  the  county  of  Caroline  was 
presented  to  the  legislature,  stating, "  they  see  the  impolicy, 
injustice,  and  oppression  of  paying  British  debts  !" 

In  Massachusetts,  a  committee  of  the  legislature  of  which 
Samuel  Adams  was  chairman  reported  that  no  person 
who  had  borne  arms  against  the  United  States,  or  lent 
money  to  the  enemy  to  carry  on  the  war,  should  ever  be 
permitted  to  return  to  the  state.*  Resolutions  of  an  intem- 
perate character  were  also  brought  forward  at  public 
meetings  in  Maryland  ;  and  a  bill  containing  many  objec- 
tionable features  was  introduced  in  the  popular  branch  of 
its  legislature,  but  it  was  resisted  with  great  eloquence,  ad- 
mirable sense,  and  unyielding  firmness  in  the  senate  by 
two  respected  individuals,  Charles  Carroll  and  Robert 
Goldsborough,  and  was  essentially  modified. 

In  New-York,  the  division  of  public  sentiment  at  the 
opening  of  the  revolution  being  very  great,  each  party 
viewed  the  other  with  the  most  jealous  eyes,  and  felt  more 
seriously  the  importance  of  individual  exertions.  The 
first  act  of  hostility  invited  retaliation.  Instead  of  looking 
to  general  results,  the  people  of  that  state  were  driven  to 
desperation  by  their  continued  uncertainty  and  alarm  from 
dangers  which  menaced  their  double  frontier. 

The  laws  which  were  passed  for  their  protection,  for 
the  apprehension  of  persons  of  "equivocal  character," 


*  Report  on  the  files  of  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  March  16th, 
1784. 


HAMILTON.  259 

early  in  the  warfare,  were  soon  followed  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  board  of  commissioners  of  sequestration.  An 
institution  which,  though  at  first  confided  to  safe  hands, 
was  unavoidably  intrusted  with  powers  that  naturally  lead 
to  abuse,  and  ultimately  became  the  organ  of  many  harsh 
and  oppressive  proceedings. 

Civil  discord  striking  at  the  root  of  each  social  relation, 
furnished  pretexts  for  the  indulgence  of  malignant  pas- 
sions ;  and  the  public  good,  that  oft-abused  pretext,  was 
interposed  as  a  shield  to  cover  offences  which  there  were 
no  laws  to  restrain. 

The  frequency  of  abuse,  created  a  party  interested  both 
in  its  continuance  and  exemption  from  punishment,  which 
at  last  became  so  strong,  that  it  rendered  the  legislature 
of  the  state  subservient  to  its  views,  and  induced  the  en- 
actment of  laws  attainting  almost  every  individual  whose 
connections  subjected  him  to  suspicion,  who  had  been 
quiescent,  or  whose  possessions  were  large  enough  to  pro- 
mise a  reward  to  this  criminal  cupidity. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  attempts  were  unre- 
sisted.  On  the  contrary,  those  who  were  most  efficient  in 
their  support  of  the  revolution — those  who  had  incurred 
the  greatest  losses — some  of  those  to  whom  the  contest  had 
offered  few  other  fruits  than  an  uninterrupted  sacrifice  of 
feeling  and  property,  and  who  might  with  much  plausibility 
have  thus  reimbursed  themselves — offered  a  steady  resist- 
ance to  these  arbitrary  edicts ;  and  when  it  was  at  last 
found  to  be  unavailing,  by  appearing  to  unite  in  the 
measures  of  persecution,  and  by  including  in  the  number 
of  the  attainted  the  names  of  those  whose  proscription 
threatened  to  affect  the  personal  interest  of  the  most  vio- 
lent, showed  them  the  danger  of  this  game  of  intoler- 
ance. 

These  proceedings  only  exasperated  the  passions  of  the 
populace,  and  soon  after  the  intelligence  of  peace,  tumult- 


260  THE    LIFE    OF 

uous  meetings  were  convened  under  the  thus  disgraced 
name  of  "  the  sons  of  liberty,"  to  denounce  the  tories,  to 
menace  them  from  returning  to  claim  their  estates,  and  to 
remonstrate  with  the  legislature  against  measures  that 
could  affect  titles  by  confiscation. 

The  circumstances  under  which  the  election  in  the  city 
of  New- York  was  held,  bespeak  the  character  of  the  now 
dominant  party.  A  council  had  been  created  for  the 
temporary  government  of  the  southern  district  of  the 
state,  who  were  directed  to  impose  a  prescribed  oath  to 
its  electors — an  oath  that  they  had  not  been  guilty  of  any 
past  offences.  In  reference  to  this  retrospective  inquisi- 
tion into  the  consciences  of  men,  Hamilton  remarked — "  A 
share  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  state,  which  is  exercised  by 
the  citizens  at  large  in  voting  at  elections,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  rights  of  the  subject,  and  in  a  republic 
ought  to  stand  foremost  in  the  estimation  of  the  law.  It 
is  that  right  by  which  we  exist  a  free  people  ;  and  it  cer- 
tainly, therefore,  will  never  be  admitted,  that  less  ceremo- 
ny ought  to  be  -used  in  divesting  any  citizen  of  that  right, 
than  in  depriving  him  of  his  property.  Such  a  doctrine 
would  ill  suit  the  principles  of  the  revolution,  which  taught 
the  inhabitants  of  this  country  to  risk  their  lives  and  for- 
tunes in  asserting  their  liberty ;  or,  in  other  words,  their 
right  to  a  share  in  the  government.  That  portion  of  the 
sovereignty  to  which  each  individual  is  entitled,  can  never 
be  too  highly  prized.  It  is  that  for  which  we  have  fought 
and  bled  ;  and  we  should  cautiously  guard  against  any 
precedents,  however  they  may  be  immediately  directed 
against  those  we  hate,  which  may  in  their  consequences 
render  our  title  to  this  great  privilege  precarious." 

These  considerations  were  disregarded,  and  this  oath 
was  prescribed.  The  election  was  thus  in  the  hands  of  a 
few  violent  persons,  together  with  those  who  were  tempt- 
ed, by  this  bribe,  to  perjury. 


HAMILTON.  201 

As  a  consequence,  the  representation  was  composed  of 
men  of  a  similar  character — the  most  conspicuous  of  whom 
was  Aaron  Burr — men  chosen  by  an  infuriate  populace, 
in  the  midst  of  a  disturbed  and  overawed  city. 

The  proscribed  petitioned  for  permission  to  return  to 
their  residences.  This  was  a  moment  which  magnanimity 
would  have  embraced  to  shield  the  defenceless  ;  but  Clin- 
ton, in  his  opening  speech  to  the  legislature,  threw  all  the 
weight  of  his  powerful  influence  into  the  popular  scale. 

"  While,"  he  said,  "  we  recollect  the  general  progress  of 
a  war  which  has  been  marked  with  cruelty  and  rapine — 
while  we  survey  the  ruins  of  this  once  flourishing  city 
and  its  vicinity — while  we  sympathize  in  the  calamities 
which  have  reduced  so  many  of  our  virtuous  fellow-citi- 
zens to  want  and  distress,  and  are  anxiously  solicitous  to 
repair  the  wastes  and  misfortunes  we  lament,"  we  cannot 
listen  to  these  petitions.  They  were  rejected,  and  a  bill 
respecting  alienism  was  passed,  which  was  negatived,  on 
great  public  principles,  by  the  council  of  revision. 

Two  days  after  the  vote  on  the  recent  adjudication  as  to 
the  treaty,  resolutions  passed  the  assembly,  calling  on  the 
governors  of  the  states  to  interchange  lists  of  the  persons 
who  had  been  banished,  in  order,  as  was  professed,  that  the 
principles  of  the  federal  union  might  be  adhered  to  and 
preserved.  They  were  followed  by  others  declaring  that 
the  rules  of  justice  did  not  require — and  that  public  tran- 
quillity would  not  permit — that  attainted  adherents  should 
be  restored  to  the  rights  of  citizens. 

A  bill  was  then  introduced,  under  the  specious  title  of 
"  An  act  to  preserve  the  freedom  and  independence  of  the 
state,"  disfranchising  all  persons  who  had  voluntarily  re- 
mained in  those  parts  of  the  state  which  had  been  occu- 
pied by  the  British,  and  adjudging  them  guilty  of  mispris- 
ion  of  treason  without  trial,  in  direct  contravention  of  the 
treaty.  This  bill  was  also  rejected  by  the  revisionary 


262  THE    LIFE    OF 

council ;  one  of  the  reasons  assigned  being,  that  its  opera- 
tions would  be  so  extensive,  that  in  most  places  of  the  ob- 
noxious district  it  would  be  difficult,  and  in  many  impos- 
sible, to  find  men  to  fill  the  necessaiy  offices  even  for  con- 
ducting elections,  until  a  new  set  of  inhabitants  could  be 
procured  ! 

A  resolution  was  also  introduced,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  recommendations  of  congress,  they  could  not  comply 
with  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty.  At  the  same  time  an 
act  to  repeal  the  laws  inconsistent  with  it,  was  rejected  by 
North  Carolina. 

It  will  be  remarked,  that  through  the  whole  of  these  pro- 
ceedings intolerance  sought  to  conceal  its  deformity  under 
.the  mask  of  the  demagogue — a  watchful  solicitude  for  lib- 
erty, and  a  distrust  of  designs  to  effect  a  revolution  in  the 
genius  of  the  government. 

It  is  an  invidious  office  to  accumulate  testimony  of  the 
vitiated  state  of  the  popular  feeling  at  this  time,  and  to 
embody  the  evidence  of  facts  tending  to  impair  the  nation- 
al character,  were  not  a  lesson  to  be  derived  from  them  of 
infinite  value — the  tendency  of  the  state  governments  in 
moments  of  excitement  to  violate  the  admitted  maxims  of 
public  law,  to  disregard  the  most  sacred  obligations,  and 
to  encroach  upon  and  undermine  the  rights  of  individuals, 
and  that  the  only  security  of  the  American  citizen  against 
local  violence  and  usurpation,  is  in  his  national  character, 
and  the  broad  protection  which  a  well-balanced  general 
government  can  alone  give. 

To  show  the  extent  to  which  the  rapacious  spirit  of  the 
times  was  carried,  but  one  more  instance  will  be  adduced. 
It  was  a  proposal  to  confiscate  the  estates  of  "  the  society 
instituted  by  a  charter  from  the  British  government  for 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  foreign  parts,"  in  which 
light  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  were  regarded  in 
that  charter — notwithstanding  the  fifth  and  sixth  articles 


HAMILTON.  263 

of  the  treaty — notwithstanding  the  pure  and  benevolent 
purposes  of  its  institution — notwithstanding  that  from  its 
very  nature  it  could  not  have  had  any  agency  in  the  war, 
nor  have  become  the  object  of  resentment  and  confisca- 
tion. This  purpose  called  forth  the  indignant  and  deter- 
mined opposition  of  Hamilton.  He  contended  that  a  re- 
gard to  honour,  justice,  and  humanity,  ought  to  be  alone 
sufficient  to  restrain  the  legislature  from  .wresting  their 
estates  from  the  hands  of  a  charitable  society  which  had 
committed  no  offence  to  incur  a  forfeiture ;  and  that 
especially  in  an  hour  of  profound  tranquillity.  That  if 
the  articles  of  the  treaty  had  been  silent  on  the  subject 
of  confiscation,  yet  under  a  general  treaty  of  peace,  it 
being  an  established  maxim  of  the  law  of  nations,  which 
is  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  land,  that  every  such  treaty 
virtually  implies  an  amnesty  for  every  thing  done  du- 
ring the  war,  even  by  an  active  enemy,  that  the  rights 
of  this  society  were  therefore  necessarily  secured ;  and 
that  as  the  exclusive  right  of  making  peace  and  war  be- 
longed to  the  great  federal  head  of  the  nation,  every 
treaty  made  by  their  authority,  was  binding  upon  the 
whole  people,  uncontrollable  by  any  particular  legislature, 
and  that  any  legislative  act  in  violation  of  the  treaty,  was 
illegal  and  void ;  and  that  upon  a  different  construction, 
"  the  confederation,  instead  of  cementing  an  honourable 
union,  would,  with  respect  to  foreign  powers,  be  a  perfidi- 
ous snare,  and  every  treaty  of  peace,  a  solemn  mockery." 
However  desirable  it  may  have  appeared  to  the  mag- 
nanimous part  of  the  community  to  bury  their  resentments 
from  motives  of  benevolence,  it  became  now  apparent  that 
their  efforts  could  no  longer  be  confined  to  mere  persua- 
sion, but  that  the  fears  of  the  considerate  must  be  aroused 
to  a  general  co-operation.  The  effect  of  popular  violence, 
though  steadily  resisted  by  the  American  courts,  was  seen 
strongly  operative  in  the  councils  of  Great  Britain.  The 


264  THE    LIFE    OF 

protection  of  the  tories  had,  during  the  discussions  of  the 
provisional  treaty,  been  a  subject  of  much  anxious  negotia- 
tion. When  she  found  that  the  recommendations  of  con- 
gress were  wholly  disregarded,  England  made  these  pro- 
ceedings a  ground  for  refusing  the  indemnities  for  spolia- 
tions stipulated  by  the  treaty,  and  for  what  was  a  source 
of  more  general  interest  and  alarm,  a  refusal  to  deliver  up 
the  frontier  posts,  which  kept  in  awe  the  whole  interior  of 
the  country.  Hamilton,  who,  as  early  as  the  spring  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  had  been  the  open  ad- 
vocate, if  the  revolution  should  be  effected,  of  a  general 
act  of  amnesty  and  oblivion,  could  no  longer  brook  the 
tyranny  of  a  small  number  of  active  demagogues,  the  found- 
ers of  the  democratic  party  in  the  state  of  New- York. 

He  resolved  to  come  forward  as  a  mediator  between  the 
passions  and  the  true  interests  of  the  people.  With  this 
view,  in  the  winter  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four, 
he  addressed  a  pamphlet  "  to  the  considerate  citizens  of 
New- York  on  the  politics  of  the  times,  in  consequence  of 
the  peace,"  under  the  signature  of  "  PHOCION." 

This  brief  production,  written  at  a  time  when  the  author 
says  "  he  has  more  inclination  than  leisure  to  serve  the  peo- 
ple, by  one  who  has  had  too  deep  a  share  in  the  common 
exertions  in  this  revolution  to  be  willing  to  see  its  fruits 
blasted  by  the  violence  of  rash  or  unprincipled  men,  with- 
out at  least  protesting  against  their  designs,"  contains  an 
earnest  appeal  to  the  friends  of  liberty,  and  to  the  true 
whigs,  on  the  enormity  of  the  recent  laws  passed  by  men 
"  bent  upon  mischief?  practising  upon  the  passions  of  the 
people,  and  propagating  the  most  inflammatory  and  perni- 
cious doctrines." 

The  persons  alluded  to.  he  says,  "  pretend  to  appeal  to 
the  spirit  of  whigism,  while  they  endeavour  to  put  in  mo- 
tion all  the  furious  and  dark  passions  of  the  human  mind. 
The  spirit  of  whigism  is  generous,  humane,  beneficent,  and 


HAMILTON.  265 

just.  These  men  inculcate  revenge,  cruelty,  persecution, 
and  perfidy.  The  spirit  of  whigism  cherishes  legal  liberty, 
holds  the  rights  of  every  individual  sacred,  condemns  or 
punishes  no  man  without  regular  trial,  and  conviction  of 
some  crime  declared  by  antecedent  laws,  reprobates  equally 
the  punishment  of  the  citizen  by  arbitrary  acts  of  the  le- 
gislature, as  by  the  lawless  combinations  of  unauthorized 
individuals  ;  while  these  men  are  the  advocates  for  expelling 
a  large  number  of  their  fellow-citizens  unheard,  untried ; 
or,  if  they  cannot  effect  this,  are  for  disfranchising  them  in 
the  face  of  the  constitution,  without  the  judgment  of  their 
peers,  and  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  land." 

The  danger  of  this  arbitrary  power,  the  extent  to  which 
it  had  been  abused  by  being  exercised  against  general  de- 
scriptions of  persons,  are  strongly  portrayed.  "  Nothing  is 
more  common,"  Hamilton  observed, "  than  for  a  free  people, 
in  times  of  heat  and  violence,  to  gratify  momentary  pas- 
sions, by  letting  into  the  government  principles  and  prece- 
dents which  afterwards  prove  fatal  to  themselves.  Of 
this  kind  is  the  doctrine  of  disqualification,  disfranchise- 
ment,  and  banishment  by  acts  of  the  legislature.  The 
dangerous  consequences  of  this  power  are  manifest.  If 
the  legislature  can  disfranchise  any  number  of  citizens  at 
pleasure  by  general  descriptions,  it  may  soon  confine  all 
the  votes  to  a  small  number  of  partisans,  and  establish  an 
aristocracy  or  an  oligarchy  ;  if  it  may  banish  at  discretion 
all  those  whom  particular  circumstances  render  obnoxious, 
without  hearing  or  trial,  no  man  can  be  safe,  nor  know 
when  he  may  be  the  innocent  victim  of  a  prevailing  fac- 
tion. The  name  of  liberty  applied  to  such  a  government, 
would  be  a  mockery  of  common  sense. 

"  The  English  whigs,  after  the  revolution,  from  an  over- 
weening dread  of  popery  and  the  pretender,  from  triennial, 
voted  the  parliament  septennial.  They  have  been  trying 
ever  since  to  undo  this  false  step  in  vain,  and  are  repenting 

34 


266  THE    LIFE    OP 

the  effects  of  their  folly  in  the  overgrown  power  of  the  new 
family. 

"  Some  imprudent  whigs  among  us,  from  resentment  to 
those  who  have  taken  the  opposite  side,  (and  many  of  them 
from  worse  motives,)  would  corrupt  the  principles  of  our 
government,  and  furnish  precedents  for  future  usurpations 
on  the  rights  of  the  community. 

"  Let  the  people  beware  of  such  counsellors.  However 
a  few  designing  men  may  rise  in  consequence,  and  advance 
their  private  interests  by  such  expedients,  the  people  at 
large  are  sure  to  be  the  losers  in  the  event,  whenever  they 
suffer  a  departure  from  the  rules  of  general  and  equal  just- 
ice, or  from  the  true  principles  of  universal  liberty." 

The  profligacy  of  violating  the  treaty — a  treaty  in 
which  Great  Britain  had  made  the  most  important  conces- 
sions, and  for  which  the  only  equivalent  was  a  stipulation 
that  there  should  be  no  future  injury  to  her  adherents — is 
then  exposed.  "  Can  we  do,"  he  asks,  "  by  act  of  the  legis- 
lature what  the  treaty  disables  us  from  doing  by  due  course 
of  law  ?  This  would  be  to  imitate  the  Roman  general, 
who,  having  promised  Antiochus  to  restore  half  his  vessels, 
caused  them  to  be  sawed  in  two  before  their  delivery ;  or 
the  Plataese,  who  having  promised  the  Thebans  to  restore 
their  prisoners,  had  them  first  put  to  death,  and  returned 
them  dead.  Such  fraudulent  subterfuges  are  justly  con- 
sidered more  odious  than  an  open  and  avowed  violation  of 
treaty." 

The  supremacy  of  congress  on  this  subject,  the  dangers 
to  result  from  the  retaliatory  acts  of  England  by  retain- 
ing the  posts,  and  an  exclusion  from  the  fisheries,  and  the 
impolicy  of  measures  which  keep  alive  in  the  bosom  of 
society  the  seeds  of  perpetual  discord,  are  forcibly  painted. 

Motives  of  private  advantage  had  been  artfully  held  out 
to  enlist  the  support  of  the  artisans,  by  assuring  them  that 
to  admit  the  tories  would  induce  an  injurious  competition. 


HAMILTON.  267 

To  this  argument  he  replied,  "  There  is  a  certain  proportion 
or  level  in  all  the  departments  of  industry.  It  is  folly  to 
think  to  raise  any  of  them  and  keep  them  long  above  their 
natural  height.  By  attempting  to  do  it,  the  economy  of 
the  political  machine  is  disturbed,  and,  till  things  return  to 
their  proper  state,  the  society  at  large  suffers.  The  only 
object  of  concern  with  an  industrious  artisan,  as  such  ought 
to  be,  is,  that  there  may  be  plenty  of  money  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  a  brisk  commerce  to  give  it  activity  and  circula- 
tion. All  attempts  at  profit,  through  the  medium  of 
monopoly  or  violence,  will  be  as  fallacious  as  they  are 
culpable. 

"  Viewing  the  subject  in  every  possible  light,  there  is  not 
a  single  interest  of  the  community  but  dictates  moderation 
rather  than  violence.  That  honesty  is  still  the  best  policy, 
that  justice  and  moderation  are  the  surest  supports  of  every 
government,  are  maxims  which,  however  they  may  be 
called  trite,  are  at  all  times  true  ;  though  too  seldom  re- 
garded, but  rarely  neglected  with  impunity." 

The  pamphlet  closes  with  the  following  emphatic  ap- 
peal : — 

"  Were  the  people  of  America  with  one  voice  to  ask — 
What  shall  we  do  to  perpetuate  our  liberties  and  secure 
our  happiness?  The  answer  would  be — GOVERN  WELL, 
and  you  have  nothing  to  fear  either  from  internal  disaffec- 
tion or  external  hostility.  Abuse  not  the  power  you  pos- 
sess, and  you  need  never  apprehend  its  diminution  or  loss. 
But  if  you  make  a  wanton  use  of  it,  if  you  furnish  another 
example,  that  despotism  may  debase  the  government  of 
the  many  as  well  as  of  the  few,  you,  like  all  others  that 
have  acted  the  same  part,  will  experience  that  licentious- 
ness is  the  forerunner  of  slavery. 

"  How  wise  was  that  policy  of  Augustus,  who,  after  con- 
quering his  enemies,  when  the  papers  of  Brutus  were 
brought  to  him,  which  would  have  disclosed  all  his  secret 


268  THE    LIFE    OF 

associates,  immediately  ordered  them  to  be  burnt !  He 
would  not  even  know  his  enemies,  that  they  might  cease  to 
hate  when  they  had  nothing  to  fear.  How  laudable  was  the 
example  of  Elizabeth,  who,  when  she  was  transferred  from 
the  prison  to  the  throne,  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  thanking 
Heaven  for  the  deliverance  it  had  granted  her  from  her 
bloody  persecutors,  dismissed  her  resentment.  The  reigns 
of  these  two  sovereigns  are  among  the  most  illustrious  in 
history.  Their  moderation  gave  a  stability  to  their  gov- 
ernment, which  nothing  else  could  have  effected.  This 
was  the  secret  of  uniting  all  parties. 

"  These  sentiments,"  he  added,  "  are  delivered  to  you  in 
the  frankness  of  conscious  integrity,  by  one  who  feels  that 
solicitude  for  the  good  of  the  community  which  the  zeal- 
ots whose  opinions  he  encounters  profess  ;  by  one  who 
pursues  not,  as  they  do,  the  honours  or  emoluments  of  his 
country ;  by  one  who  has  had  too  deep  a  share  in  the 
common  exertions  of  this  revolution,  to  be  willing  to  see 
its  fruits  blasted  by  the  violence  of  rash  or  unprincipled 
men,  without  at  least  protesting  against  their  designs  ;  by 
one  who,  though  he  has  had  in  the  course  of  the  revolu- 
tion a  very  confidential  share  in  the  public  councils,  civil 
and  military,  and  has  as  often,  at  least,  met  danger  in  the 
common  cause  as  any  of  those  who  now  assume  to  be  the 
guardians  of  the  public  liberty,  asks  no  other  reward  of 
his  countrymen,  than  to  be  heard  without  prejudice,  for 
their  own  interest." 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  this  pamphlet,  which  was 
extensively  read  in  the  United  States  and  republished  in 
London,  various  replies  appeared,  with  the  signatures  of 
Gustavus,  Anti-Phocionite,  and  others. 

One  more  elaborate  than  the  rest  was  issued  under  the 
name  of  Mentor,  representing  the  inhabitants  of  the  south- 
ern district  of  the  state,  who  had  remained  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  enemy,  as  aliens ;  and,  therefore,  as  subject  to 


HAMILTON.  269 

the  complete  discretion  of  the  legislature,  and  wholly  de- 
nying to  them  the  protection  of  the  treaty. 

To  this  production,  written  by  Isaac  Ledyard,  which 
Hamilton  designated  "  a  political  novelty,"  he  wrote  an 
answer,  entitled  "  Phocion's  second  letter,  containing  re- 
marks on  Mentor's  reply." 

In  the  beginning,  he  avowed  that  "  whatever  severity 
of  animadversion  had  been  indulged  in  his  former  remarks, 
was  manifestly  directed  against  a  very  small  number  of 
men,  manifestly  aiming  at  nothing  but  the  acquisition  of 
power  and  profit  to  themselves ;  and  who,  to  gratify  their 
avidity  for  these  objects,  would  trample  upon  every  thing 
sacred  in  society,  and  overturn  the  foundations  of  public 
and  private  security.  That  it  was  difficult  for  a  man  con- 
scious of  a  firm  attachment  to  the  public  weal,  who  sees 
it  invaded  and  endangered  by  such  men,  under  specious 
but  false  pretences,  either  to  think  or  to  speak  of  their 
conduct  without  indignation ;  and  that  it  was  equally  dif- 
ficult for  one  who,  in  questions  that  affect  the  community, 
regards  principles  only  and  not  men,  to  look  with  indiffer- 
ence on  attempts  to  make  the  great  principles  of  social 
right,  justice,  and  honour,  the  victims  of  personal  animosi- 
ty or  party  intrigue." 

Having  stated  a  few  simple  propositions,  which  em- 
braced within  their  compass  the  principles  of  his  argu- 
ment, and  having  disproved  by  a  complete  and  precise 
demonstration  those  of  his  opponents,  he  descanted  with 
much  force  on  the  improper  multiplication  of  oaths,  and 
exposed  the  specious  assertion,  made  without  any  limita- 
tion, that  every  government  has  a  right  to  take  precau- 
tions for  its  own  security,  and  to  prescribe  the  terms  on 
which  its  rights  shall  be  enjoyed. 

"  This  right,"  he  remarked,  "  is  bounded,  with  respect  to 
those  who  were  included  in  the  compact  by  its  original 
conditions ;  only  in  admitting  strangers,  it  may  add  new 


270  THE    LIFE   OF 

ones.  The  rights  too  of  a  republican  government  are  to 
be  modified  and  regulated  by  the  principles  of  such  a  gov- 
ernment. These  principles  dictate  that  no  man  shall  lose 
his  rights,  without  a  hearing  and  conviction  before  the 
proper  tribunal ;  that  previous  to  his  disfranchisement,  he 
shall  have  the  full  benefit  of  the  laws  to  make  his  defence ; 
and  that  his  innocence  shall  be  presumed  till  his  guilt  has 
been  proved.  These,  with  many  other  maxims  never  to 
be  forgotten  in  any  but  tyrannical  governments,  oppose 
the  aims  of  those  who  quarrel  with  the  principles  of  Pho- 
cion." 

"  Among  the  extravagances,"  he  observed,  "  with  which 
these  prolific  times  abound,  we  hear  it  often  said  that  the 
constitution  being  the  creature  of  the  people,  their  sense 
with  respect  to  any  measure,  if  it  even  stand  in  opposition 
to  the  constitution,  will  sanctify  and  make  it  right.  Hap- 
pily for  us,  in  this  country,  the  position  is  not  to  be  con- 
troverted that  the  constitution  is  the  creature  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  they  are  not  bound  by  it, 
while  they  suffer  it  to  continue  in  force  ;  nor  does  it  follow, 
that  the  legislature,  which  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  creature 
of  the  constitution,  can  depart  from  it  on  any  presumption 
of  the  contrary  sense  of  the  people. 

"  The  constitution  is  the  compact  made  by  the  society  at 
large  and  each  individual.  The  society,  therefore,  cannot, 
without  breach  of  faith  and  injustice,  refuse  to  any  indi- 
vidual a  single  advantage  which  he  derives  under  that 
compact,  no  more  than  one  man  can  refuse  to  perform  his 
agreement  with  another. 

"  If  the  community  have  good  reasons  for  abrogating  the 
old  compact,  and  establishing  a  new  one,  it  undoubtedly 
has  a  right  to  do  it ;  but  until  the  compact  is  dissolved 
with  the  same  solemnity  and  certainty  with  which  it  was 
made,  the  society  as  well  as  individuals  are  bound  by  it. 

"  All  the  authority  of  the  legislature  is  delegated  to  them 


HAMILTON.  271 

under  the  constitution  ;  their  rights  and  powers  are  there 
defined  ;  if  they  exceed  them,  'tis  a  treasonable  usurpation 
upon  the  power  and  majesty  of  the  people  ;  and  by  the 
same  rule  that  they  may  take  away  from  a  single  indi- 
vidual the  rights  he  claims  under  the  constitution,  they 
may  erect  themselves  into  perpetual  dictators. 

"  The  sense  of  the  people,  if  urged  in  justification  of  the 
measure,  must  be  considered  as  a  mere  pretext,  for  that 
sense  cannot  appear  to  them  in  a  form  so  explicit  and  au- 
thoritative as  the  constitution  under  which  they  act ;  and  if 
it  could  appear  with  equal  authority,  it  could  only  bind  when 
it  had  been  preceded  by  a  declared  change  in  the  form  of 
government.  The  contrary  doctrine  serves  to  undermine 
all  those  rules  by  which  individuals  can  know  their  duties 
and  their  rights,  and  to  convert  the  government  into  a 
government  of  will,  not  of  laws." 

The  danger  of  subjugation  by  England  had  been  warmly 
urged.  He  exhibited  her  condition  at  large,  to  show  that  it 
was  groundless — the  king  at  variance  with  his  ministers — 
the  ministers x  unsupported  by  parliament — the  lords  disa- 
greeing with  the  commons — the  nation  execrating  the 
king,  ministers,  lords,  and  commons ;  all  these  are  symp- 
toms of  a  vital  malady  in  the  present  state  of  the  nation. 
He  then  adverted  to  another  often-repeated  apprehension. 
"  The  danger  from  a  corruption  of  the  principles  of  our 
government  is  more  plausible,  but  not  more  solid.  It  is  an 
axiom  that  governments  form  manners,  as  well  as  man- 
ners form  governments. 

"  The  body  of  the  people  of  this  state  are  too  firmly  at- 
tached to  the  democracy,  to  permit  the  principles  of  a 
small  number  to  give  a  different  tone  to  that  spirit.  The 
present  law  of  inlieritance,  making  an  equal  division  among 
Hie  children  of  the  parent 's  property,  will  soon  melt  down 
those  great  estates,  which,  if  they  continued,  might  favour 
the  power  of  the  few.  The  number  of  the  disaffected, 


272  ,  THE    LIFE    OF 

who  are  so  from  speculative  notions  of  government,  is 
small.  The  great  majority  of  those  who  took  part  against 
us,  did  it  from  accident,  from  the  dread  of  the  British 
power,  and  from  the  influence  of  others  to  whom  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  look  up.  Most  of  the  men  who 
had  that  kind  of  influence  are  already  gone.  The  residue 
and  their  adherents  must  be  carried  along  by  the  torrent, 
and  with  very  few  exceptions,  if  the  government  is  mild 
and  just,  will  soon  come  to  view  it  with  approbation  and 
attachment.  There  is  a  bigotry  in  politics,  as  well  as  in 
religion,  equally  pernicious  to  both.  The  zealots  of  either 
description  are  ignorant  of  the  advantage  of  a  spirit  of 
toleration.  It  is  remarkable,  though  not  extraordinary, 
that  those  characters,  throughout  the  states,  who  have 
been  principally  instrumental  in  the  revolution,  are  the 
most  opposed  to  persecuting  measures.  Were  it  proper,  I 
might  trace  the  truth  of  this  remark,  from  that  character 
which  has  been  the  first  in  conspicuousness,  through  the 
several  gradations  of  those,  with  very  few  exceptions,  who 
either  in  the  civil  or  military  line  have  borne  a  distin- 
guished part." 

Hamilton's  great  characteristics  were  firmness  and  gen- 
tleness. His  spirit  was  as  bold  as  it  was  sympathizing. 
He  hated  oppression  in  all  its  forms,  and  resisted  it  in 
every  shape.  Governed  by  the  highest  principles,  with 
them  his  lofty  nature  would  admit  no  compromise  ;  for  he 
was  accustomed  to  view  infractions  of  them  in  all  their 
remote  consequences.  Hence  his  denunciations  of  tyran- 
ny were  universal  and  unsparing. 

Alluding  to  the  passing  scenes,  he  observed,  with  in- 
tensest  scorn — "  How  easy  is  it  for  men  to  change  their 
principles  with  their  situations — to  be  zealous  advocates  for 
the  rights  of  the  citizens  when  they  are  invaded  by  others, 
and,  as  soon  as  they  have  it  in  their  power,  to  become  the 
invaders  themselves — to  resist  the  encroachments  of  pow- 


HAMILTON.  273 

er  when  it  is  in  the  hands  of  others,  and  the  moment  they 
get  it  into  their  own,  to  make  bolder  strides  than  those 
they  have  resisted !  Are  such  men  to  be  sanctified  with 
the  hallowed  name  of  patriots  ?  Are  they  not  rather  to  be 
branded  as  men  who  make  their  passions,  prejudices,  and 
interests  the  sole  measure  of  their  own  and  others'  rights  ? 
The  history  of  mankind  is  too  full  of  these  melancholy 
contradictions." 

He  closed  with  the  following  impressive  observations  : — 
"  Those  who  are  at  present  intrusted  with  power  in  all 
these  infant  republics,  hold  the  most  sacred  deposit  that 
ever  was  confided  to  human  hands.  It  is  \vith  govern- 
ments as  with  individuals,  first  impressions  and  early  hab- 
its give  a  lasting  bias  to  the  temper  and  character.  Our  gov- 
ernments hitherto  have  no  habits.  How  important  to  the 
happiness,  not  of  America  alone,  but  of  mankind,  that  they 
should  acquire  good  ones  !  If  we  set  out  with  justice,  mod- 
eration, liberality,  and  a  scrupulous  regard  to  the  constitu- 
tion, the  government  will  acquire  a  spirit  and  tone  produc- 
tive of  permanent  blessings  to  the  community.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  the  public  councils  are  guided  by  humour,  pas- 
sion, and  prejudice — if,  from  resentment  to  individuals  or 
a  dread  of  partial  inconveniences,  the  constitution  is  slight- 
ed or  explained  away  upon  every  frivolous  pretext — the 
future  spirit  of  government  will  be  feeble,  distracted,  and 
arbitrary.  The  rights  of  the  subject  will  be  the  sport  of 
every  vicissitude.  There  will  be  no  settled  rule  of  con- 
duct, but  every  thing  will  fluctuate  with  the  alternate 
prevalency  of  contending  factions. 

"  The  world  has  its  eye  upon  America.  The  noble  strug- 
gle we  have  made  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  has  occasioned 
a  kind  of  revolution  in  human  sentiment.  The  influence 
of  our  example  has  penetrated  the  gloomy  regions  of  des- 
potism, and  has  pointed  the  way  to  inquiries  which  may 
shake  it  to  its  deepest  foundations.  Men  begin  to  ask  ev- 

35 


274  THE    LIFE   OF 

ery  where,  'Who  is  this  tyrant,  that  dares  to  build  his 
greatness  on  our  misery  and  degradation  ?  What  com- 
mission has  he  to  sacrifice  millions  to  the  wanton  appetites 
of  himself  and  the  few  minions  that  surround  his  throne  ?' 

"  To  ripen  inquiry  into  action,  it  remains  for  us  to  justify 
the  revolution  by  its  fruits.  If  the  consequences  prove  that 
we  have  really  asserted  the  cause  of  human  happiness, 
what  may  not  be  expected  from  so  illustrious  an  example  ? 
In  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  world  will  bless  and  imi- 
tate. 

"  But  if  experience,  in  this  instance,  verifies  the  lesson 
long  taught  by  the  enemies  of  liberty — that  the  bulk  of 
mankind  are  not  fit  to  govern  themselves — that  they  must 
have  a  master,  and  were  only  made  for  the  rein  and  the 
spur — we  shall  then  see  the  final  triumph  of  despotism 
over  liberty.  The  advocates  of  the  latter  must  acknow- 
ledge it  to  be  an  ignis  fatuus,  and  abandon  the  pursuit. 
With  the  greatest  advantages  for  promoting  it  that  ever  a 
people  had,  we  shall  have  betrayed  the  cause  of  human  na- 
ture !  Let  those  in  whose  hands  it  is  placed,  pause  for  a 
moment,  and  contemplate  with  an  eye  of  reverence  the 
vast  trust  committed  to  them.  Let  them  retire  into  their 
own  bosoms  and  examine  the  motives  which  there  prevail. 
Let  them  ask  themselves  this  solemn  question — Is  the  sac- 
rifice of  a  few  mistaken  or  criminal  individuals  an  object 
worthy  of  the  shifts  to  which  we  are  reduced  to  evade  the 
constitution  and  our  national  engagements  ?  Then  let  them 
review  the  arguments  that  have  been  offered  with  dispas- 
sionate candour,  and  if  they  even  doubt  the  propriety  of 
the  measures  they  may  be  about  to  adopt,  let  them  re- 
member that  in  a  doubtful  case  the  constitution  ought 
never  to  be  hazarded  without  extreme  necessity." 

This  glowing  appeal,  which  repels  all  the  allegations 
that  Hamilton  was  the  friend  of  arbitrary  government — 
this  appeal  to  the  better  sense  of  the  people  prevailed. 


HAMILTON.  275 

"  The  force  of  plain  truth,"  as  the  author  observed, "  car- 
ried it  along  the  stream  of  prejudice,  and  the  principles  it 
held  out,  gained  ground  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  those 
who  were  either  too  angry  or  too  much  interested  to  be 
convinced."  A  bill  was  then  depending  before  the  assem- 
bly for  putting  various  descriptions  of  persons  out  of  the 
protection  of  the  law,  which  Hamilton  characterized  "as 
an  attempt  to  transfer  the  sceptre  from  the  hands  of  gov- 
ernment to  those  of  individuals — to  arm  one  part  of  the 
community  against  another — to  enact  a  civil  war."  This 
bill  was  now  abandoned,  and  the  happiest  effects  were  pro- 
duced. The  lessons  of  moderation  and  good  faith  which 
were  inculcated,  were  soon  found  to  be  the  lessons  of  true 
wisdom  ;  and  instead  of  looking  upon  the  return  of  the 
tories  with  alarm  and  discontent,  the  reflecting  part  of  the 
public  admitted  that  their  wealth  would  be  subservient 
to  the  interests  of  the  community,  and  while  they  ac- 
knowledged that  their  temporary  influence  might  be  preju- 
dicial, were  willing  to  confide  our  institutions  to  the  irre- 
sistible current  of  free  opinions. 

These  generous  views  extended  rapidly.  As  the  arts  of 
peace  advanced,  the  popular  clamour  gradually  subsided, 
and  the  general  sense  of  the  country  settled  down  in  favour 
of  the  policy  Hamilton  had  supported.* 

The  spirit  of  plunder,  originating  with  the  violent  and 
unprincipled,  disappointed  in  its  aims,  now  turned  upon 
him  with  its  fellest  rancour.  From  that  hour  of  honest 


*  "  The  rising  generation  then  just  entering  on  the  stage  of  action,  readily 
imbibed  those  sentiments  of  temperate  civil  liberty,  and  of  sound  constitu- 
tional law,  which  Hamilton  had  so  clearly  taught  and  so  eloquently  incul- 
cated. The  benign  influence  of  such  doctrines,  was  happily  felt  and  retain- 
ed through  the  whole  course  of  the  generation  to  whom  they  were  address- 
ed. I  speak  for  myself  as  one  of  that  generation,  that  no  hasty  production 
of  the  press  could  have  been  more  auspicious." — Chancellor  Kent's  Recol- 
lections. 


276  THE    LIFE    OP 

triumph,  he  was  marked  as  the  object  of  incessant  calum- 
ny. The  sense  of  defeat,  rankling  in  the  breasts  of  the 
persecuting  demagogues,  united ,  with  other  passions,  and 
with  the  facility  with  which  vicious  sentiments  usually  as- 
sociate, soon  grew  into  an  unscrupulous  and  unrelenting 
hostility. 

But  this  feeling  did  not  extend  far.  In  all  civilized  so- 
cieties the  greater  part  are  quiescent,  and,  as  Hamilton 
observed,  "  were  either  for  liberal  or  moderate  measures, 
or,  at  most,  for  some  legislative  discriminations ;  a  few  only 
were  very  violent ;  the  most  heated  were  the  warm  adhe- 
rents of  the  governor,  and  the  objects  of  his  peculiar  pa- 
tronage." They  were  rewarded  for  their  intolerance — 
Hamilton  was  proscribed  for  his  clemency. 

Of  the  personal  animosity  which  his  opposition  to  demo- 
cratic tyranny  had  awakened,  a  painful  instance  is  related. 
There  existed  at  this  time  an  evening  club,  composed  of 
persons  conspicuous  in  the  prosecution  of  these  attainders, 
some  of  whom  had  written  in  opposition  to  "  Phocion,"  and 
who  felt  themselves  the  deserved  objects  of  its  just  denun- 
ciations. * 

Early  in  an  evening  of  this  meeting,  it  was  proposed  that 
Hamilton  should  be  challenged,  and  in  case  the  first  chal- 
lenger should  fall,  that  others  should  challenge  him  in  suc- 
cession. At  this  moment  Ledyard  entered  the  apartment, 
and,  on  hearing  the  proposition,  broke  out  with  loud  indig- 
nation. "  This,  gentlemen,  never  can  be.  What  ?  you 
write  what  you  please,  and  because  you  cannot  refute  what 
he  writes  in  reply,  you  form  a  combination  to  take  his  life. 
One  challenges,  and  if  he  falls,  another  follows !"  By  this 
remonstrance  the  blow  was  suspended. 

Some  time  after,  Hamilton,  who  had  heard  of  the  occur- 
rence, was  dining  in  company  with  Ledyard,  when  he  was 
casually  addressed  as  Mentor.  He  instantly  arose,  and 
taking  him  by  the  hand,  exclaimed,  "  Then  you,  my  dear 


HAMILTON.  277 

sir,  are  the  friend  who  saved  my  life."  Ledyard  replied, 
"  That,  you  know,  you  once  did  for  me." 

Of  his  professional  efforts  at  this  time,  the  traces  among 
his  papers  are  few  and  of  little  value.  The  practice  of 
reporting  adjudicated  cases  had  not  obtained.  Stenogra- 
phy was  unknown  in  America  and  the  vestiges  of  the  elo- 
quence of  the  men  whose  genius  embellished  the  infancy 
of  our  republic,  are  rare  and  imperfect. 

The  recollections  of  a  youthful  contemporary*  remark 
Hamilton's  "  clear,  elegant,  and  fluent  style,  and  command- 
ing manner.  He  never  made  any  argument  in  court  with- 
out displaying  his  habits  of  thinking,  and  resorting  at  once 
to  some  well-founded  principle  of  law,  and  drawing  his  de- 
ductions logically  from  his  premises.  Law  was  always 
treated  by  him  as  a  science  founded  on  established  princi- 
ples. His  manners  were  gentle,  affable,  and  kind.  He 
appeared  to  be  frank,  liberal,  and  courteous  in  all  his  pro- 
fessional intercourse."  Referring  to  an  important  trial  of 
this  period,  they  state — "  Hamilton,  by  means  of  his  fine  melo- 
dious voice  and  dignified  deportment,  his  reasoning  powers 
and  persuasive  address,  soared  above  all  competition  ;  his 
pre-eminence  was  at  once  universally  conceded."f 

He  continued  throughout  this  and  the  succeeding  year 
deeply  engaged  in  his  professional  labours,  as  to  which  he 
observed — "  Legislative  folly  had  afforded  so  plentiful  a 

» 

*  Chancellor  Kent. 

t  Chancellor  Livingston  was  the  opposite  counsel.  On  the  brief  in  this 
cause  the  following  pleasantry  is  found. 

"Recipe  for  a  good  title  in  ejectment. 

Two  or  three  void  patents. 
As  many  old  ex-parte  surveys. 

One  or  two  acts  of  usurpation,  acquiesced  in  for  a  time,  but  afterwards 
proved  to  he  such. 

Hah"  a  dozen  scripture  allusions. 

Some  ghosts,  fairies,  elves,  hobgoblins,  and  a  quantum  sufficit  of  eloquence." 


278  THE    LIFE   OP 

harvest,  that  he  had  scarcely  a  moment  to  spare  from  the 
substantial  business  of  reaping." 

But  his  mind  was  never  wholly  withdrawn  from  an  at- 
tention to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens.  The  important 
benefits  which  he  had  anticipated  from  an  extensive  system 
of  banking,  on  its  true  principles,  have  been  shown  at  an 
early  period  of  his  life. 

Could  he  have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  well-organized 
general  government,  this  would  have  been  effected  under 
its  powers.  But  his  expectations  had  been  disappointed, 
and  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  union  of  the  states  would 
continue.  Under  these  circumstances  he  determined  to 
introduce  a  local  bank,  under  franchises  to  be  derived  from 
the  state. 

His  attention  appears  to  have  been  called  to  this  sub- 
ject by  a  friend,  who,  dissatisfied  with  the  Bank  of  North 
America,  proposed  the  establishment  of  a  bank  in  New- 
York. 

While  this  was  in  contemplation,  a  plan  of  a  land  bank, 
of  which  another  was  the  ostensible  parent,  but  Chancel- 
lor Livingston  the  originator,  was  projected,  and  a  petition 
for  an  exclusive  charter  was  addressed  to  the  legislature. 
"  I  thought  it  necessary,"  Hamilton  observes  in  a  letter  to 
his  friend,  "  not  only  with  a  view  to  your  project,  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  state,  to  start 
an  ppposition  to  this  scheme,  and  took  occasion  to  point 
out  its  absurdity  and  inconvenience  to  some  of  the  most 
intelligent  merchants,  who  presently  saw  matters  in  a  pro- 
per light,  and  began  to  take  measures  to  defeat  the  plan. 

"  The  chancellor  had  taken  so  much  pains  with  the  coun- 
try members,  that  they  began  to  be  persuaded  that  the 
land  bank  was  the  true  philosopher's  stone,  that  it  was  to 
turn  all  their  rocks  and  trees  into  gold ;  and  there  was 
great  reason  to  apprehend  a  majority  of  the  legislature 
would  have  adopted  his  views.  It  became  necessary  to 


HAMILTON.  279 

convince  the  projectors  themselves  of  the  impracticability 
of  their  scheme,  and  to  countervail  the  impressions  they 
had  made,  by  a  direct  application  to  the  legislature." 

To  carry  this  plan  into  effect,  a  general  meeting*  of  the 
citizens  of  New- York  was  convened,  at  which  McDougal 
presided,  and  half  a  million  of  dollars  were  subscribed. 

The  constitution  of  the  Bank  of  New- York,  framed  by 
Hamilton,  was  adopted,  and  he  was  chosen  one  of  its  direc- 
tors, was  chairman  of  the  committee  to  prepare  its  by- 
laws, and  was  occupied  in  devising  a  mode  for  receiving 
and  paying  out  gold,  which  had  been  done  elsewhere  by 
weighing  in  quantities ;  a  practice  attended  with  many 
evils,  and  for  which,  in  the  absence  of  a  national  coinage, 
it  was  difficult  to  find  a  substitute.^ 

The  abuses  of  the  banking  system  of  this  country  have 
rendered  it  an  object  of  prejudice ;  but  he  has  thought  lit- 
tle of  its  infant  condition,  who  cannot  trace  to  these  insti- 
tutions the  most  important  public  benefits. 

Contemporaneously  with  them  may  be  remarked  the  in- 
troduction of  those  habits  of  punctuality,  which,  by  giving 
stability  to  domestic,  and,  as  a  consequence,  to  foreign 
credit,  were  highly  instrumental  in  raising  the  character 
of  the  nation  and  advancing  its  commercial  prosperity. 
And  in  the  same  degree  in  which  can  be  seen  the  early 
introduction  into  the  different  states  of  an  enlightened 
system  of  banking  on  commercial  principles,  in  the  same 
ratio  the  relative  advances  of  those  states  may  be  traced. 

A  letter  from  La  Fayette  of  this  period  invites  attention 

«  February  26,  1784. 

t  The  rates  for  the  value  of  each  foreign  coin  in  circulation  were  fixed  by 
the  bank.  A  person  was  employed  to  regulate  each  piece  according  to  the 
standard  weight ;  and  an  allowance  or  deduction  of  three  per  cent,  was  made 
on  each  gold  piece,  as  it  exceeded  or  fell  short  of  that  value.  To  give  effect 
to  this  arrangement,  the  chamber  of  commerce,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1784, 
adopted  a  regulation  fixing  a  tariff  of  values. 


280  THE    LIFE    OF 

to  another  subject.  After  mentioning  an  intended  visit  to 
the  Prussian  and  Austrian  armies,  he  wrote  : — "  In  one  of 
your  gazettes,  I  find  an  association  against  the  slavery  of 
negroes,  which  seems  to  be  worded  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  no  offence  to  the  moderate  men  in  the  southern  states. 
As  I  have  ever  been  partial  to  my  brethren  of  that  colour, 
I  wish,  if  you  are  in  the  society,  you  would  move,  in  your 
own  name,  for  my  being  admitted  on  the  list." 

This  association,  emanating  from  one  previously  formed 
in  Philadelphia,  was  composed  of  individuals,  of  whom  the 
most  active  were  members  of  the  society  of  Friends.  At 
its  second  meeting  Jay  was  chosen  president,  and  a  com- 
mittee raised,  of  which  Hamilton  was  chairman,  to  devise 
a  system  for  effecting  its  objects. 

Believing  that  the  influence  of  such  an  example  would 
be  auspicious,  he  proposed  a  resolution  that  every  mem- 
ber of  the  society  should  manumit  his  own  slaves. 

He  never  owned  a  slave ;  but  on  the  contrary,  having 
learned  that  a  domestic  whom  he  had  hired  was  about  to 
be  sold  by  her  master,  he  immediately  purchased  her  free- 
dom. 

Others  found  the  theory  of  humanity  lighter  than  the 
practice.  This  resolution  was  debated  and  deferred. 
Disgusted  with  the  pretensions  of  persons  who  were  un- 
willing to  make  so  small  a  sacrifice,  he  discontinued  his 
attendance  at  these  meetings. 

The  condition  of  New- York  at  this  time  is  summarily 
shown  in  a  letter  from  him  to  a  friend.  "  Discrimination 
bills,  partial  taxes,  schemes  to  engross  public  property  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  have  present  power,  to  banish  the 
real  wealth  of  the  state,  and  substitute  paper  bubbles,  are 
the  only  dishes  that  suit  the  public  palate  at  this  time." 

While  the  sphere  of  his  political  usefulness  was  limited 
by  such  counsels,  Hamilton  kept  aloof  from  party  contests 
with  the  secondary  men,  who  succeeded  to  the  great  ao 


HAMILTON.  281 

tors  in  the  revolution ;  and  aware  that  a  strong  necessity 
could  alone  change  the  unhappy  tendency  of  the  public 
mind,  he  was  content  to  pause,  and,  as  he  beautifully  ob- 
served, "  to  erect  a  temple  to  time,  to  see  what  would  be 
the  event  of  the  American  drama." 

36 


282 


CHAPTER  XX. 

[1783.> 

THE  narrative  of  Hamilton's  past  life  has  shown  the 
failure  of  the  imperfect  union  of  the  states  either  "  to  pro- 
vide" prospectively  "  for  the  common  defence,"  or  "  to 
establish  justice." 

It  is  believed  to  be  necessary  to  a  correct  view  of  his 
future  life  also  to  show,  though  by  a  digression  from  his 
immediate  personal  history,  its  utter  incompetency  "  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare"  by  the  protection  of  the  national 
industry,  or  "  to  ensure  domestic  tranquillity;"  thus  failing,  in 
every  essential  particular, "  to  secure"  to  the  American  peo- 
ple "  the  blessings  of  liberty." 

The  policy  to  be  pursued  in  their  intercourse  with 
other  nations  would,  it  may  be  supposed,  early  engage  the 
attention  of  a  people  by  position  and  habit  necessarily 
commercial.  Hence  it  is  perceived  that  before  the  decla- 
ration of  independence,  congress  had  deliberated  upon 
that  subject. 

The  result  of  these  deliberations  was  such  as  was  to 
have  been  expected  under  their  circumstances.  It  was  a 
resolution  to  open  the  ports  of  the  colonies  to  the  world, 
excepting  the  inhabitants,  productions,  and  vessels  of  Great 
Britain,  and  East  India  tea.  This  purpose  of  placing  each 
nation  on  the  footing  of  "  natives,"  it  has  been  seen  was 
proposed  to  France,  but  relinquished,  and  that  of  the  "  most 
favoured  nation"  adopted.  This  was  also  the  basis  of  the 
treaties  with  Sweden  and  the  Netherlands ;  in  the  latter 
of  which,  provisions  were  made  defining  the  state  of  block- 


HAMILTON.  283 

ade,  and  securing  to  the  people  of  either  country  "  an  en- 
tire and  perfect  liberty  of  conscience." 

But  what  should  be  the  terms  of  intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  was  the  most  interesting  question. 

Soon  after  Oswald  had  received  his  commission  recog- 
nising this  country  as  an  independent  nation,  Jay  prepared 
the  plan  of  a  treaty  of  commerce,  which  he  submitted  to 
him.  This  plan  proposed  that  it  should  be  on  the  footing 
of  "  natives."  The  proposition  being  announced  to  con- 
gress by  Franklin,  was  referred. 

Instructions  were  reported,*  that  "  in  any  commercial 
stipulations  with  Great  Britain,"  the  commissioners  were 
"  to  endeavour  to  obtain  a  direct  commerce  with  all  parts 
of  the  British  dominions  and  possessions,  in  like  manner  as 
all  parts  of  the  United  States  may  be  opened  to  a  direct 
commerce  of  British  subjects  ;  or  at  least,  that  such  direct 
commerce  be  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  British  domin- 
ions and  possessions  in  Europe  and  the  West  Indies  ;"  and 
they  were  informed,  "  that  this  stipulation  will  be  particu- 
larly expected  by  congress,"  in  case  the  footing  of  natives 
was  admitted.  Their  attention  was  again  called  to  this 
subject  by  a  letter  from  Adams,  in  which,  after  reminding 
them  of  the  revocation  of  his  former  powers,  he  urged  the 
appointment  of  a  resident  minister  at  London ;  and  having 
referred  to  the  injustice  which  would  be  done  to  him  who 
was  the  first  object  of  his  country's  choice,  should  any 
other  be  appointed,  he  indicates  to  that  body  the  qualifica- 
tionsf  necessary  for  an  American  foreign  minister  gene- 

*  By  Madison. 

t  "  In  the  first  place,  he  should  have  had  an  education  in  classical  learn- 
ing,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  general  history,  ancient  and  modern,  and  par- 
ticularly the  history  of  France,  England,  Holland,  and  America.  He  should 
be  well  versed  in  the  principles  of  ethics,  of  the  law  of  nature  and  nations, 
of  legislation  and  government,  of  the  civil  Roman  law,  of  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States,  of  the  public  law  of  Europe,  and  in  the  letters, 


284  THE    LIFE   OP 

rally,  and  above  all,  to  the  court  of  St.  James."  This  re- 
markable despatch  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which 
Hamilton  was  chairman.  His  views  on  this  subject  had 

memoirs,  and  histories  of  those  great  men  who  have  heretofore  shone  in  the 
diplomatic  order,  and  conducted  the  affairs  of  nations  and  the  world.  He 
should  be  of  an  age  to  possess  a  maturity  of  judgment  arising  from  expe- 
rience in  business.  He  should  be  active,  attentive,  and  industrious,  and 
above  all,  he  should  possess  an  upright  heart,  and  an  independent  spirit,  and 
should  be  one  who  decidedly  makes  the  interest  of  his  country — not  the  policy 
of  any  other  nation,  nor  his  own  private  ambition  or  interest,  or  those  of  his 
family,  friends,  and  connections — the  rule  of  his  conduct. 

"  We  hear  so  much  said  about  a  genteel  address,  and  a  facility  in  speaking 
the  French  language,  that  one  would  think  a  dancing  master  and  a  French 
master  the  only  tutors  necessary  to  educate  a  statesman.  Be  it  remembered, 
the  present  revolution,  neither  in  America  nor  Europe  has  been  accomplished 
by  elegant  bows,  nor  by  fluency  in  French,  nor  will  any  great  thing  ever  be 
effected  by  such  accomplishments  alone.  A  man  must  have  something  in  his 
head  to  say  before  he  can  speak  to  effect,  how  ready  soever  he  may  be  at  utter- 
ance. And  if  the  knowkdge  is  in  his  head  and  the  virtue  in  his  heart,  he  will 
never  fail  to  find  a  way  of  communicating  his  sentiments  to  good  purpose. 
He  will  always  have  excellent  translators  ready,  if  he  wants  them,  to  turn 
his  thoughts  into  any  language  he  desires. 

"  As  to  what  is  called  a  fine  address,  it  is  seldom  attended  to  after  a  first 
or  second  conversation,  and  even  in  these  it  is  regarded  no  more  by  men  of 
sense  of  any  country  than  another  thing,  which  I  heard  disputed  with  great 
vivacity  among  the  officers  of  the  French  frigate,  the  SENSIBLE.  The  ques- 
tion was,  what  were  the  several  departments  of  an  ambassador  and  a  secre- 
tary of  legation.  After  a  long  and  shrewd  discussion,  it  was  decided  by  a 
majority  of  votes,  '  that  the  secretary's  part  was  to  do  the  business,  and  that 
of  an  ambassador  »  »  *  *  «  *  .'  This  decision  produced  a  laugh 
among  the  company,  and  no  ideas  of  the  kind  will  ever  produce  any  thing 
else  among  men  of  understanding. 

"  It  is  very  true  that  it  is  possible  that  a  case  may  happen,  that  a  man 
may  serve  his  country  by  a  bribe  well  placed,  or  an  intrigue  *  *  *  * 

*  *  .  But  it  is  equally  true,  that  a  man's  country  will  be  sold  and  be- 
trayed a  thousand  times  by  this  infamous  commerce,  where  it  will  be  once 
served.  It  is  very  certain  that  we  shall  never  be  a  match  for  European 
statesmen  in  such  accomplishments  for  negotiation,  any  more  than,  I  must 
and  will  add,  they  will  equal  us  in  any  solid  abilities,  virtues,  and  application 
to  business,  if  we  choose  wisely  among  the  excellent  characters  with  which 
our  country  abounds."— 7  D.  C.  21. 


HAMILTON.  285 

long  been  formed  ;  he  was  'of  the  opinion  that  it  ought  to 
be  "  the  basis  of  our  commercial  system  not  to  make 
particular  sacrifices,  nor  to  expect  particular  favours." 
Though  the  advocate  of  a  reciprocal  freedom  of  com- 
merce, it  has  been  seen  that  he  was  fully  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  the  power  of  protecting  the  peculiar  inter- 
ests of  a  community  where,  from  the  previous  colonial 
restrictions,  there  was  little  diversity  in  the  pursuits  of 
industry. 

But  the  powers  of  the  confederacy  were  inadequate  to 
this  object,  the  policy  of  England  was  not  developed,  and, 
until  those  powers  were  enlarged  and  that  policy  disclosed, 
he  felt  that  a  temporary  arrangement  would  be  most  ex- 
pedient. 

Under  this  conviction,  and  not  satisfied  by  the  despatch 
from  Adams,  of  the  wisdom  of  intrusting  to  him  the  sole 
conduct  of  so  important  a  negotiation,  he  reported  a  reso- 
lution* that  Franklin  and  Jay  should  be  empowered  with 
him,  or  either  of  them  in  the  absence  of  the  others,  "  to  en- 
ter into  a  treaty  of  commerce  between  the  United  States 
of  America  and  Great  Britain,  subject  to  the  revisal  of  the 
contracting  parties  previous  to  its  final  conclusion  ;  and  in 
the  mean  time,  to  enter  into  a  commercial  convention  to 
continue  in  force  one  year,"  and  "  that  the  secretary  for 
foreign  affairs  should  lay  before  congress,  without  delay," 
a  plan  of  a  treaty  of  commerce,  and  instructions  to  be 
transmitted  to  the  commissioners. 

This  plan  proposed  a  direct  commerce  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, except  as  to  such  articles,  the  importation  or  exporta- 
tion of  which  might  be  prohibited  in  all  her  dominions, 
excepting  the  territories  of  the  East  India  and  Hudson's 
Bay  companies  ;  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  paying  the 
same  duties  in  the  United  States  as  the  citizens  of  the 

*  May  1,  1783. 


286  THE    LIFE    OF 

United  States  paid  in  Great  Britain,  and  which  were  not 
to  exceed  those  paid  by  the  most  favoured  nations, — par- 
ticipating in  any  concession  freely,  if  freely  made,  or  if 
conditional,  allowing  a  similar  compensation.  In  neither 
country  were  the  .citizens  or  subjects  of  the  other  to  be 
regarded  as  aliens,  except  as  to  an  exemption  from  military 
duty. 

The  plan*  being  referred  on  the  nineteenth  of  June, 
instructions  were  reported  to  accompany  it.  They  strong- 
ly urged  the  articles  as  to  a  free  commerce,  on  the  ground 
that  the  immunities  offered  to  British  subjects,  particu- 
larly those  permitted  to  settle  in  the  United  States, 
were  a  full  equivalent,  as  they  would  probably  direct  their 
trade  into  such  channels  as  England  would  prefer.  If 
these  terms  could  not  be  obtained,  others  as  similar  to 
them  as  possible  were  to  be  obtained,  and  they  were  di- 
rected "  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  great  leading  object  of 
these  states,  was  to  find  the  West  India  market  open  for 
their  own  produce,  and  to  be  permitted,  as  far  as  possible, 


*  Madison  to  Jefferson,  May  13,  1783. — "A  project  for  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce with  Great  Britain  has  been  reported  by  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs, 
and  is  now  in  the  hands  of  a  committee.  The  objects  most  at  heart,  are — 
first,  a  direct  trade  between  this  country  and  the  West  Indies ;  secondly,  a 
right  of  carrying  between  the  latter  and  other  parts  of  the  British  empire  ; 
thirdly,  a  right  of  carrying  from  the  West  Indies  to  all  other  parts  of  the 
world.  As  the  price  of  these  advantages,  it  is  proposed  that  we  shall  admit 
British  subjects  to  equal  privileges  with  our  own  citizens.  As  to  the  first 
object,  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  bill  lately  brought  into  the  British  par- 
liament, renders  it  probable  that  it  may  be  obtained  without  such  a  cession  , 
as  to  the  second,  that  it  concerns  the  eastern  states  chiefly  ;  and  that  as  to  the" 
third,  that  it  concerns  them  alone.  Whilst  the  privilege  to  be  conceded,  will 
chiefly,  if  not  alone,  affect  the  southern  states.  The  interest  of  these,  seems 
to  require  that  they  should  retain,  at  least  the  faculty  of  giving  any  encour- 
agement to  their  own  merchant-ships  or  mariners,  which  may  be  necessary 
to  prevent  a  relapse  under  Scotch  monopoly,  or  to  acquire  a  maritime  im- 
portance. The  eastern  states  need  no  such  precaution." — Madison  Papers, 
vol.  1,  p.  531. 


HAMILTON.  287 

to  be  the  carriers  of  theirs."  The  trade  of  the  coast  of 
Africa,  and  permission  to  cut  wood  in  the  bay  of  Hondu- 
ras, were  indicated  as  desirable.  They  were  to  represent 
as  inducements  to  the  grant  of  these  advantages,  that  un- 
less these  channels  were  opened  to  America,  she  would  be 
without  the  means  of  paying  for  the  manufactures  requi- 
red, and  be  compelled  to  manufacture  for  herself.  But  if 
a  market  was  given  for  her  raw  materials,  agriculture,  and 
not  manufactures,  would  be  encouraged.  They  were  in 
no  event  to  conclude  any  treaty,  unless  the  trade  with  the 
West  Indies  was  placed  on  its  former  footing.  It  was  not 
to  be  definitive  until  approved  by  congress,  but  a  conven- 
tion on  these  principles  might  be  entered  into,  to  endure 
one  year. 

The  expediency  of  making  an  admission  to  the  West 
India  market  an  indispensable  condition,  was  doubted. 
It  was  still  "  a  fundamental  law  of  Europe,  that  all 
commerce  with  a  foreign  colony  shall  be  regarded  as  a 
mere  monopoly."*  That  a  nation  so  fenced  in  by  monopo- 
lies, and  which  then  considered  it  as  a  cardinal  maxim  to 
secure  to  herself  the  exclusive  trade  of  her  colonies,  would 
relax  in  favour  of  the  United  States,  so  recently  revolted, 
was  little  to  be  expected.  Indeed,  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try did  not,  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  expect  it. 
In  the  address  of  congress  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, made  in  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-five,  they  de- 
clared, "  We  cheerfully  consent  to  such  acts  of  the  British 
parliament  as  shall  be  restrained  to  the  regulation  of  our 
external  commerce,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  com- 
mercial advantages  of  the  whole  empire  to  the  mother 
country,  and  the  commercial  benefit  of  it  to  its  respective 
members." 

Under  these  considerations,  and  unwilling  to  interpose 

*  Montesquieu,  liv.  21,  cap.  17. 


THE    LIFE    OF 

so  serious  an  impediment  to  a  treaty,  and,  on  the  part  of 
some,  to  recognise  the  policy  that  America  was  to  continue 
a  merely  agricultural  nation,  this  resolution  was  postponed. 
In  the  ensuing  month,*  the  minister  of  France  anxious  to 
secure  to  his  country  a  monopoly  of  the  American  trade, 
announced  to  congress  that  he  would  not  sign  a  treaty 
but  in  concert  with  the  United  States,  and  at  the  same 
time  condemned  "  the  too  precipitate  admission  of  British 
vessels  into  the  American  ports." 

The  statesmen  of  England  had,  in  the  mean  time,  also 
been  occupied  with  this  subject.  It  has  been  seen,  that 
while  the  party  which  plunged  their  country  into  this  dis- 
astrous conflict — still  clinging  to  the  hope  of  recovering 
their  popularity,  by  soothing  the  pride  of  the  nation,  and 
obedient  to  the  prejudices  of  the  monarch — shrank  from 
the  express  acknowledgment  of  independence,  their  oppo- 
nents, during  the  brief  ascendency  of  Fox,  whose  enlight- 
ened mind  was  governed  by  an  enlarged  philanthropy, 
took  a  different  view. 

He  contended  that  it  became  the  British  government  to 
tender  an  absolute,  unconditional  acknowledgment  of  inde- 
pendence in  the  first  instance,  as  a  measure  not  less  due  to 
her  national  character,  than  prompted  by  her  best  interests. 
Similar  difference  of  opinion  existed  as  to  the  policy  which 
ought  to  govern  the  commercial  relations  of  the  two  coun- 
tries. The  advocates  of  unconditional  terms,  as  soon  as 
the  provisional  treaty  was  completed,  proposed  in  parlia- 
ment to  repeal  all  the  existing  prohibitory  acts,  and  recom- 
mended an  open  trade  with  the  United  States.  On  the 
third  of  March,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  a  bill 
was  presented  by  Pitt,  who  had  just  commenced  his  dis- 
tinguished career,  framed  "  on  the  most  enlarged  princi- 
ples of  reciprocal  benefit,"  to  operate  until  a  treaty  should 

*  July  21,   1783. 


HAMILTON.  289 

be  formed.  This  bill  would  have  placed  the  American 
commerce,  both  in  the  direct  and  colonial  trade,  on  the 
same  terms  with  that  of  England.  These  liberal  views 
were  also  approved  by  a  large  party  of  the  merchants. 
But  the  bill  was  opposed,  in  every  stage  of  it,  by  the  navi- 
gating interest,  as  an  infraction  of  existing  treaties ;  as  a 
violation  of  the  policy  of  the  navigation  act,  which,  it  was 
contended,  by  the  terms  of  the  settlement  with  Ireland, 
would  have  been  wholly  repealed,. as  respected  that  king- 
dom, if  repealed  in  any  particular  affecting  England  ;  as  a 
measure  unequal  in  its  operation  on  different  parts  of  the 
empire,  and  not  warranted  by  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  France.  It  was  the  appeal 
of  established  opinions  to  national  prejudices;  an  appeal 
rarely  unsuccessful.  Great  diversity  of  opinion  also  arose 
as  to  the  extent  to  which  it  would  be  prudent  to  open  the 
commerce  of  the  West  Indies,  and  while  the  discussion  was 
pending,  a  coalition  was  formed  between  North  and  Fox. 
They  succeeded  to  power ;  the  influence  of  the  king  pre- 
dominated ;  Pitt's  bill  failed,  and  the  crown  was  authorized 
to  make  temporary  regulations. 

The  policy  of  these  regulations  was  obviously  to  monopo- 
lize the  navigation.  In  the  direct  trade  between  the  West 
Indies  and  England,  the  tropical  products  were  bulky,  and 
required  a  large  tonnage.  The  wants  of  the  islands  only 
gave  small  outward  freights.  It  was  intended  to  supply 
these  by  the  carriage  to  the  United  States,  thence  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  from  the  West  Indies,  by  a  return  cargo, 
to  the  mother  country. 

The  course  of  the  negotiations  on  the  part  of  England 
partook  of  the  fluctuations  in  her  councils.  Not  long 
after  the  signature  of  the  preliminary  articles,  the  king 
of  England  instructed  Hartley  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of 
commerce  with  the  United  States.  This  informality 
was  objected  to,  and  he  was  subsequently  duly  commis- 

37 


290  THE    LIFE    OF 

sioned.  A  proposition*  for  a  temporary  convention,  autho- 
rizing a  mutual  intercourse  on  the  footing  of  " natives"  was 
made  on  behalf  of  this  country.  England  declined  assent- 
ing to  it.  Hartley  then  offered  to  place  the  trade  of  the 
two  countries  on  the  same  basis  as  that  upon  which  it  had 
existed  before  the  war ;  but  excluding  American  citizens 
from  a  direct  intercourse  between  the  British  West  Indies 
and  the  mother  country.  This  also  proved  to  be  unautho- 
rized, and  no  further  instructions  were  given. 

The  British  ministry,  acting  on  the  power  of  regulation 
recently  conferred  upon  them,  issued  two  proclamations ; 
the  first  of  which  restrained  the  importation  of  the  pro- 
duce of  the  United  States  to  British  vessels,  navigated 
according  to  her  laws,  or  to  vessels  belonging  to  the  state 
of  which  the  cargo  was  the  produce  ;f  and  the  other,  in 
effect,  absolutely  prohibited  American  vessels  or  citizens 
from  trading  to  the  British  colonies.  Convinced  that  no 
advantage  could  be  derived  from  longer  delay,  the  defini- 
tive treaty  of  peace,  which  was  a  copy  of  the  provisional 
articles,  was  signed  on  the  third  of  September,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-three. 

Soon  after  this  event,  copies  of  the  recent  proclamations 
were  received  by  congress  from  their  ministers,  who  an- 
nounced propositions  for  entering  into  treaties  by  several 
leading  European  powers. 

The  conduct  of  England  was  supposed  to  indicate  the 
importance  of  such  treaties,  and  instructions  were  passed, 
declaring  the  principle  on  which  these  negotiations  should 
be  commenced.  They  were  to  have  for  their  basis  the 
mutual  advantage  of  the  contracting  parties,  on  terms  of 
equality  and  reciprocity,  and  not  to  be  repugnant  to  their 


*  The  article  submitted  by  Jay  proposed  to  exclude  the  importation  of  slaves, 
t  Several  staples  of  the  United  States  were  also  excluded,  even  in  British 
bottoms. 


HAMILTON.  291 

existing  treaties.  The  report  of  June,  as  to  the  terms  of  a 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  was  thus  superseded. 

These  resolutions  passed  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  Octo- 
ber, seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three. 

On  the  third  of  November  a  new  congress  met  at 
Princeton,  when  seven  states  being  represented,  a  president 
was  chosen.  After  a  session  of  two  days,  it  adjourned  to 
meet  at  Annapolis,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  the  same 
month  ;  but  a  quorum  was  not  formed  until  the  thirteenth 
of  December,  on  which  day  nine  states  were  represented. 
From  the  same  cause,  so  rapidly  had  that  body  declined  in 
the  public  estimation,  notwithstanding  a  call  upon  the 
states  urging  the  necessity  of  ratifying  the  definitive  trea- 
ty, a  full  meeting  was  not  had  until  the  fourteenth  of  Jan- 
uary, when  that  treaty  was  unanimously  ratified,  and  a 
resolution  was  adopted  recommending  the  restitution  of 
confiscated  property. 

A  provision  for  the  interest  on  a  part  of  the  debt  was 
brought  under  consideration  on  the  following  day,  by  a 
memorial  from  the  holders  of  loan-office  certificates,  when 
a  declaratory  resolution  was  adopted,  that  they  were  not 
subject  to  depreciation.  A  representation  by  the  foreign 
officers,  not  attached  to  the  state  lines,  of  the  hardships 
incurred  by  them  from  being  paid  in  depreciated  paper, 
was  soon  after  made  to  congress,  and  directions  were  giv- 
en to  the  superintendent  of  finance,  to  pay  them  such 
sums,  on  account  of  their  pay,  as  would  relieve  them  from 
their  embarrassments,  and  enable  them  to  return  to 
Europe.  "With  the  exception  of  the  acceptance  from 
Virginia  of  a  cession  of  her  western  territory,*  nothing 

*  The  deed  of  cession  contained  this  provision — "  That  all  the  lands  with- 
in the  territory  so  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  not  reserved  for,  or  appro- 
priated to  any  of  the  before  mentioned  purposes,  or  disposed  of  in  bounties  to 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  American  army,  shall  be  considered  as  a  com- 
mon fund,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United  States,  as  have  be-. 


292  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  moment,  owing  to  the  continued  remissness  of  the  dele- 
gates, was  done  until  the  month  of  April,  when  the  grand 
committee,  of  which  Jefferson  was  chairman,  presented  a 
report  on  the  finances.  This  document — after  exhibiting 
an  account  for  the  interest  on  the  debt,  and  the  current 
services  of  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four, 
of  five  millions  four  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars, 
and  referring  to  the  resolutions  of  the  last  congress  for  the 
establishment  of  an  impost,  the  delay  of  which  rendered 
other  measures  necessary  for  the  discharge  of  the  debt — 
proceeded  to  represent,  that  as  to  twelve  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  interest,  it  was  not  embraced  in  the  account, 
because  as  the  requisition  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-two  had  given  license  to  the  states  to  apply  the 
requisite  part  of  their  quotas  to  the  payment  of  interest  on 
the  loan  office,  and  other  liquidated  debts  of  the  United 
States,  they  supposed  that  the  "  actual  payment  of  these 
quotas  had  been  uncommunicated  to  the  office  of  finance." 
It  then  urged,  that  the  United  States  should  communicate  to 
that  office  the  amount  paid,  and  hasten  the  collection  of 
the  residue.  It  next  inquired,  whether  any  surpluses  re- 
mained of  former  requisitions ;  and  in  this  inquiry,  pro- 
ceeding on  the  ground  that  for  part  of  those  requisitions 
certificates  were  received,  which  were  transferred  to  the 
fund  proposed  to  be  raised  by  the  impost,  the  result  was 
arrived  at,  that  a  surplus  remained  exceeding  five  and  a 
half  millions  of  dollars,  which  surplus  it  was  proposed  to 
apply  to  the  existing  demands ;  in  order  to  prevent  any 
new.  requisitions,  not  a  sum  equivalent  to  these  demands, 


come  or  shall  become  members  of  the  confederation  or  federal  alliance  of  the 
said  states,  Virginia  inclusive,  according  to  their  several  respective  propor- 
tions in  the  general  charge  and  expenditure,  and  shall  be  faithfully  and  bona 
fide  disposed  of  for  that  purpose  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever.'1'' 
This  deed  was  executed,  March  1,  1784,  by  Jefferson,  Lee,  Hardy,  and 
Monroe. 


HAMILTON.  293 

but  from  a  regard  to  the  "  exhausted  state  of  the  country," 
three-fourths  of  it. 

The  "abler  states"  were  then  "  encouraged"  to  contrib- 
ute as  much  more  as  was  practicable,  to  be  applied  to 
the  payment  of  the  interest  and  principal  of  the  debt, 
and  to  be  credited  in  future  requisitions ;  and  an  assur- 
ance was  given,  that  before  any  further  demands  should 
be  made,  a  revision  of  the  quotas  of  the  states  would 
be  had. 

By  this  scheme,  the  amount  to  be  required  was  reduced 
to  about  four  and  a  half  millions.  To  give  further  facilities 
to  the  states,  it  was  proposed,  that  one  half  of  this  sum  should 
be  called  for  in  money ;  that  the  other  moiety,  being  the 
interest  on  the  domestic  debt,  should  be  met  by  discounts 
of  interest  with  the  domestic  creditors,  for  which,  trans- 
ferable certificates  were  to  be  issued,  receivable  in  lieu  of 
money.  A  proposition  of  McHenry,  to  refer  this  report 
to  the  superintendent  of  finance,  was  negatived,  and  on  a 
subsequent  day,  a  motion  was  made  by  Jefferson  to  re- 
duce the  amount  to  be  collected  from  three-fourths  to  one 
half  of  the  original  sum,  which,  though  defeated  on  the 
first  vote,  prevailed  after  protracted  and  frequent  de- 
bates. 

This  report  was  ultimately  adopted ;  and  although  it  had 
admitted  that  nearly  five  millions  and  a  half  were  neces- 
sary for  the  current  service,  the  amount  required  by  it 
was  reduced  to  a  little  more  than  two  and  a  half  millions 
of  dollars,  a  measure  that  left  a  large  sum  of  interest  un- 
provided for,  which  was  raised  by  the  succeeding  con- 
gress. This  was  a  complex  affair.  By  preventing  col- 
lisions as  to  the  respective  quotas  of  the  states,  and  by 
imposing  upon  a  future  congress  the  irksome  office  of  de- 
manding increased  contributions,  it  was  better  adapted  to 
secure  a  temporary  popularity,  and  to  subserve  personal 


294  THE    LIFE    OF 

objects,  than  to  discharge  the  public  engagements,  or  to 
promote  the  public  welfare.* 

The  refusal  to  refer  this  report  to  the  superintendent 
of  finance,  is  indicative  of  the  relations  between  that 
officer  and  this  congress.  He  soon  after  resigned  his 
office,  and  his  powers  were  consigned  to  a  new  board  of 
treasury. 

While  this  subject  had  in  part  occupied  their  attention, 
a  planf  was  discussed  for  the  government  of  the  western 
territory,  and  principles  were  established  on  which,  when 
sufficiently  peopled,  it  should  be  formed  into  subdivisions, 
to  be  admitted  as  members  of  the  confederacy.  The  re- 

*  In  a  letter  from  Rufus  King,  a  delegate  in  the  succeeding  congress,  ta 
Gerry,  it  is  observed :  "  The  recommendation  of  the  twenty -seventh  April, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  is  the  source  of  great  embarrassment. 
Congress  thereby  declare,  that  they  will  not  call  for  further  moneys  until  the 
states  have  all  paid  up  former  deficiencies ;  and  they  engage  to  credit  acu 
vances  over  the  moiety  of  the  eight  millions  of  dollars  in  the  next  requisition-. 
The  recommendation  of  last  year,  which  is  a  very  complex  affair,  also  states, 
that  before  the  residue  of  the  eight  and  two  millions  of  dollars,  not  thereby 
called  for,  should  be  required,  congress  would  revise  the  rule  of  apportion- 
ment, and  make  it  conformable  to  justice,  upon  the  best  evidence  in  their 
power  at  the  time.  South  Carolina,  in  the  apportionment  of  the  eight  mil- 
lions,  stands  at  the  same  sum  as  New-Hampshire.  Revise  the  rule,  and  com. 
form  it  to  justice,  and  South  Carolina  will  stand  at  a  larger  sum,  and  other 
states  at  a  less.  This  is  what  I  contend  for ;  and  if  it  succeeds,  we  shall 
bring  in  South  Carolina.  Indeed,  it  may  be  questionable  whether  we  ought 
not  to  reconsider  the  recommendation  of  last  year  on  this  subject,  and  to  en- 
join it  upon  the  states  to  comply  with  the  expectations  of  congress,  in  paying 
a  moiety  of  the  quotas  of  the  eight  millions  last  year  required,  and  make  a 
new  requisition  for  the  moneys  necessary  for  the  present  year,  without  refer- 
ence to  former  requisitions.  It  will  be  the  occasion  of  confusion  and  intrica- 
cy, if  every  new  requisition  upon  the  states  for  money  is  to  operate  as  a 
balance-bill  to  all  preceding  demands." 

t  Jefferson's  plan,  dated  March  1st,  1784,  proposed  that  each  state  should 
comprehend  two  degrees  of  latitude,  divided  by  north  and  south  parallels,  and 
that  they  should  be  named  Sylvania,  Michigania,  Chersonesus,  Assinipia, 
Metropotamia,  Illinoia,  Saratoga,  Washington,  Polypotamia,  Pelisipia,  and 
should  become  states  as  soon  as  each  contained  40,000  souls. 


HAMILTON.  295 

port  was  from  Jefferson,  Chase,  and  Howell.  It  is  to  be 
remarked,  that  it  embodied  a  proviso  for  the  exclusion  of 
slavery  in  the  contemplated  states,  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  nineteenth  century,  which,  though  sustained 
by  the  votes  of  all  (but  the  southern  states,)  and  by  those 
of  Jefferson  and  Williamson,  was  expunged.  This  report 
is  a  remarkable  event  in  the  history  of  its  author.  It  con- 
templated an  exercise  of  the  highest  powers  of  govern- 
ment ;  nothing  less  than  the  creation  of  independent 
states ;  their  admission  as  members  of  the  confederacy, 
and  the  determination  of  the  conditions  of  such  admission. 
But  it  was  an  exercise  of  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
confederation  !  "  All  this  was  done  without  the  least  col- 
our of  constitutional  authority ;  yet  no  blame  was  whisper- 
ed, no  alarm  sounded.  The  public  interest,  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  imposed  upon  congress  the  task  of  overleaping 
their  constitutional  authority."* 

It  has  been  previously  mentioned  that  Jefferson  had  re- 
paired to  Philadelphia  the  preceding  year,  with  a  view  to 
his  embarcation  as  a  joint  commissioner  in  the  negotiation 
at  Paris.  He  was  appointed!  on  motion  of  Madison,  it 
being  suggested  that  a  recent  domestic  calamity  had 
probably  changed  his  sentiments  with  regard  to  public 
life  ;  that  "  all  the  reasons  for  his  original  appointment  still 
existed,  and  had  acquired  additional  force  from  the  im- 
probability that  Laurens  would  actually  assist  in  the  ne- 
gotiation."J  The  intelligence  from  Europe  led  to  a  reso- 
lution, that  he  must  "  not  proceed  on  his  intended  voyage 
until  further  instructions."  Though  he  hoped  there  was 
no  prospect  of  his  having  any  thing  more  to  do  than  to 
join  in  the  celebration  of  peace,  he  remained  near  the  seat 

*  Such  was  the  charge,  and  such  the  defence. — Federalist,  No.  38,  by 
Madison. 

t  November  12,  1782. 
t  February  14,  1783. 


296  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  congress, "  much  agitated  with  the  suspense*  in  which  he 
was  held,  until  the  first  of  April,  when  Hamilton  reported,! 
"  that  the  object  of  his  appointment  was  so  far  advanced  as 
to  render  his  services  no  longer  necessary." 

A  mission  to  Europe  was  still  his  favourite  aim,  and  no 
more  certain  mode  of  obtaining  it  offered,  than  a  seat  in 
congress. 

The  events  of  the  last  year  had  shown  that  every  effort 
to  conclude  a  commercial  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  had 
been  vain,  and  if  France  could  have  been  previously  in- 
duced to  adopt  a  more  liberal  policy,  the  negotiations  for 
the  treaty  of  peace  had  dispelled  every  hope  of  that  kind. 
The  previous  congress  had,  in  conformity  with  Hamilton's 
views,  dissuaded  a  multiplication  of  pacts  with  foreign  na- 
tions, until  the  confederacy  should  have  been  invested 
with  an  efficient  control  over  its  members,  and  until  time 
and  experience  should  have  indicated  what  system  of  reg- 
ulations would  best  promote  the  permanent  interests  of 
the  United  States.  But  the  recent  overtures  were  to  be 
met,  and  when  the  field  of  ambition  was  so  circumscribed 
at  home,  nothing  could  be  more  attractive  than  the  position 
of  determining  the  foreign  relations  of  this  youthful  em- 
pire ;  nor  more  enchanting  to  a  visionary  mind,  than  the 
attempt  to  overturn  at  once  the  prevailing  maxims  of  Eu- 
ropean diplomacy,  and  to  substitute  an  universal  system  of 

*  December  30,  1782. — "  Mr.  Jefferson  arrived  here  on  Friday  last,  and 
is  industriously  arming  himself  for  the  field  of  negotiation.  The  commission 
issued  to  Mr.  Oswald  impresses  him  with  a  hope  that  he  may  have  nothing  to  do 
on  his  arrival,  but  join  in  the  celebration  of  victory  and  peace.  Congress, 
however,  anxiously  espouse  the  expediency  of  his  hastening  to  his  destina- 
tion." 

March  11, 1783. — "  Mr.  Jefferson  is  still  here,  agitated,  as  you  may  sup- 
pose, with  the  suspense  in  which  he  is  kept.  He  is  anxious  as  myself  for 
your  going  into  the  legislature." — Madison  to  Edmund  Randolph,  vol.  1, 
495-514. 

t  Vol.  1,  No.  25,  department  of  state. 


HAMILTON.  297 

free  trade.  The  mode  adopted  to  obtain  this  object  was 
as  certain  to  result  in  failure,  as  the  object  was  at  that  time 
hopeless.  It  was  a  novel  idea,  and  had  an  imposing  air, 
to  establish  a  central  commission  at  Paris,  whither  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  might  resort,  to  ask  a  participation  in  the 
commerce  of  the  new  world.  Should  the  dignity  of  Brit- 
ain scorn,  or  the  pride  of  Spain  revolt  at  the  idea  of  ne- 
gotiating under  the  supervision  of  France,  yet  still  it 
would  be  a  happy  thing  to  escape  the  turmoils  of  a  jarring 
confederacy,  to  withdraw  from  the  sufferings  of  a  recent 
war,  and  to  enjoy  the  only  official  emoluments,  ease  and 
honour,  which  the  penury  of  the  people  could  support.  To 
others  was  left  the  labour  of  building  up  the  constitution 
of  the  country. 

Jefferson  introduced  a  report  on  the  foreign  relations. 
After  reciting  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  treaties 
with  the  various  nations  of  Europe,  he  proposed  that 
each  treaty  should  contain  a  stipulation  that  each  party 
should  have  the  right  to  carry  their  own  produce,  manu- 
factures, and  merchandise,  in  their  own  bottoms  to  the 
ports  of  the  other,  and  thence  to  take  the  produce  and  man- 
ufactures of  the  other,  paying  such  duties  only  as  are  paid 
by  the  most  favoured  nation, — freely,  where  freely  grant- 
ed to  such  nation,  and  paying  the  compensation  where 
such  nation  does  the  same.  "  That  with  nations  hold- 
ing possessions  in  America,  a  direct  and  similar  inter- 
course be  admitted  between  the  United  States  and  such 
possessions  ;  or  if  that  could  not  be  obtained,  a  direct  and 
similar  intercourse  between  the  United  States  and  certain 
free  ports  within  such  possessions.  If  neither  of  these — 
permission  to  bring,  in  their  own  bottoms,  their  produce 
and  merchandise  to  the  United  States  directly,  and  similar 
permission  to  the  United  States  as  to  their  produce 
and  vessels ;  or  else,  a  permission  to  the  inhabitants  of 
such  possessions  to  carry  their  produce  and  merchandise 

38 


298  THE  LIFE  or 

in  their  own  bottoms  to  the  free  ports  of  other  -na- 
tions ;  and  thence  to  take  back,  directly,  the  produce  and 
merchandise  of  the  United  States ;  and  that  in  all  such 
treaties,  the  United  States  should  be  regarded  as  one  na- 
tion, upon  the  principles  of  the  federal  constitution."  Provis- 
ions that  free  ships  should  make  free  goods,  denning  articles 
of  contraband  and  the  state  of  blockade,  were  also  to  be 
made ;  with  the  additional  stipulation,  that  a  contraband 
trade  should  not  induce  confiscation. 

Security  was  also  to  be  assured  to  persons  following 
the  peaceful  arts  ;  and  a  stipulation  that  private  ships  should 
continue  their  trade  free  and  unmolested  during  war,  and 
that  privateers  should  not  be  employed,  was  proposed. 
Aliens  were  to  be  excluded  holding  real  estate  within  the 
United  States,  as  "  utterly  inadmissible  by  their  several  laws 
and  policy  ;"  but  in  case  they  did,  it  \vas  not  on  their  de- 
mise to  escheat,  but  might  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  their 
representatives.  All  treaties  were  to  be  limited  to  ten 
years,  unless  the  foreign  party  "  pertinaciously  insisted" 
on  their  being  extended  to  fifteen  years.  On  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  leading  principles  of  these  instructions, 
placing  each  nation  on  the  footing  of  the  most  favoured,  a 
substitute  was  offered  to  establish  the  intercourse  on  the 
basis  of  "  natives  ;"  but  if  this  could  not  be  obtained,  then 
on  that  of  "  the  most  favoured  nation."  This  amendment 
was  lost  on  the  vote  by  states,  though  of  the  members 
present,  a  majority  were  in  favour  of  it.*  It  was  also  con- 
tended that  a  distinction  ought  to  be  made  between  Brit- 
ish and  American  vessels  by  a  difference  of  duties.  If  not 
then  made,  that  it  was  at  least  important  to  reserve  the 
power  of  making  such  a  discrimination  in  case  pecu- 

*  Affirmative — Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  (three  to  two,)  Jefferson  and  Monroe  in  the  negative.  Negative — 
New-Hampshire  and  New-Jersey.  Divided — Rhode  Island,  New- York, 
North  and  South  Carolina. 


HAMILTON.  299 

liar  circumstances  should  render  its  exercise  necessary. 
Owing  to  these  differences  of  opinion,  it  was  moved 
to  postpone  acting  upon  this  report  until  the  disposition 
and  concurrence  of  the  several  state  legislatures  should  be 
ascertained,  which,  the  motion  stated,  "the  constitution 
renders  highly  prudent,  if  not  indispensably  necessary  in 
forming  commercial  treaties." 

With  this  motion  a  resolution  was  offered  directing 
foreign  powers  to  be  apprised  of  the  desire  of  the  United 
States  "  to  form  treaties  upon  terms  of  perfect  reciprocity 
and  equality ;  and  for  that  purpose  were  ready  to  enter 
into  negotiations  in  America"  Five  commissioners  had 
been  appointed  to  negotiate  the  treaty  with  England,  thus 
representing  each  important  section  of  the  union.  To 
gain  the  benefit  of  this  precedent,  it  had  been  proposed  to 
appoint  two  additional  commissioners.  One  of  the  objects 
of  this  resolution  was,  to  prevent  so  unnecessary  an  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  foreign  ministers.  But  it  was 
defeated,  and  the  report  of  Jefferson  was  recommitted. 
Another  report  had  recently  been  made  proposing  a  re- 
duction of  the  civil  list.  It  was  next  moved  to  postpone 
these  appointments  for  the  purpose  of  considering  this 
report.  The  division  of  states  being  equal,  this  motion 
was  also  lost.*  The  idea  of  two  additional  commission- 
ers was  then  abandoned,  and  it  was  moved  to  add  one  to 
the  existing  number. 

This  proposal  was  resisted,  and  in  lieu  of  it  a  declaratory 
resolution  was  offered,  "  that  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  do  not  require  more  than  three  commissioners 
plenipotentiary  to  be  supported  in  Europe  to  negotiate 
^reaties  of  commerce."  This  declaration  would  have  de- 
feated Jefferson,  and  at  the  instance  of  Virginia  it  was 
superseded  by  the  previous  question.  A  debate  next  arose 

*  4  J.  C.  396-7. 


300  THE    LIFE   OP 

on  a  proposal  to  reduce  the  salaries  of  these  ministers,* 
which  prevailed.  To  prevent  this  reduction,  a  member 
from  Virginia  insisted  that  it  was  a  proposition  which  re- 
quired the  assent  of  nine  states.  This  extraordinary  ob- 
jection was  defeated,  only  five  members  voting  for  it ;  but 
the  next  day,  at  the  instance  of  Gerry,  the  salary  was 
established  at  nine  thousand  dollars. 

Jefferson  had  recommended  a  delusive  provision  for  the 
public  creditors,  and  had  urged  "forbearance,"  on  the 
ground  "  that  the  states  were  just  relieved  from  the 
ravages  of  predatory  armies,  returning  from  an  attend- 
ance in  camps  to  the  culture  of  their  fields  ;  beginning  to 
sow,  but  not  yet  having  reaped ;  exhausted  of  necessaries 
and  habitual  comforts,  and  therefore  needing  new  supplies 
out  of  the  first  proceeds  of  their  labour."  He  was  also 
of  the  committee  which  had  recommended  retrenchments 
in  the  public  expenditure,  and  which  did  not  contemplate 
in  their  report  this  additional  officer. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  appointment  of  an  unne- 
cessary commissioner  was  viewed  as  proceeding  solely 
from  a  desire  to  bestow  office  on  an  individual,  by  a 
body  of  which  he  was  a  member,  without  any  regard  to 
the  condition  of  the  country.  It  gave  rise  to  much  dissat- 
isfaction. At  this  moment  a  letter  was  received  from 
Franklin,  announcing  that  Jay  had  determined  to  embark 
for  America.  The  motive  to  an  increase  of  the  number 
of  the  commission  now  ceased,  and  the  measure  was  aban- 
doned. 

The  office  of  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  was  vacant. 
Jay,  in  his  late  mission,  had  confirmed  the  confidence  of  the 
nation.  His  appointment  to  that  department  would  sat, 
isfy  the  public,  and  propitiate  those  who  were  offended 
with  this  gross  and  glaring  effort  to  provide  for  a  favour- 

*  From  $11,000  to  $8,000. 


HAMILTON.  301 

ite.  The  dissatisfaction  given  by  Jay  to  the  partisans  of 
France  was  therefore  smothered,  and  yielded  to  the  present 
object ;  and  on  the  same  day,  the  seventh  of  May,  Jay  in  his 
absence,  at  the  instance  of  Gerry,  was  elected  to  the  foreign 
department,  and  with  his  concurrence  Jefferson,  on  the 
motion  of  a  colleague  from  Virginia,  was  chosen  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  the  commission. 

An  occurrence  of  this  kind  could  not  fail  to  produce 
a  strong  and  lasting  impression.  A  twelvemonth  after, 
Massachusetts  urged,  through  her  delegates,  a  resolution 
that  no  member  of  congress  should  be  appointed  to  any 
office  during  the  term  for  which  he  was  elected ;  and  a  pro- 
vision was  inserted  in  the  federal  constitution,  which  would 
seem  to  have  had  this  case  in  view.  It  rendered  a  mem- 
ber of  congress  ineligible  "  to  any  civil  office  that  had  been 
created,  or  the  emolument  whereof  had  been  increased,  du- 
ring the  time  for  which  he  was  elected." 

Jefferson's  commercial  report  was  now  again  brought 
forward  with  some  additions.  Of  these,  the  most  impor- 
tant was,  that  these  instructions  should  be  considered  as 
supplementary  to  those  of  October,  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-three  ;  that  where  the  commissioners  should  be  able 
to  form  treaties  on  principles  in  their  judgment  more  ad- 
vantageous to  the  United  States  than  those  of  the  report, 
they  were  permitted  to  adopt  such  principles,  and  that  it 
would  be  agreeable  to  have  supplementary  treaties  with 
France,  Holland,  and  Sweden,  which  may  bring  the  trea- 
ties previously  entered  into,  as  nearly  as  may  be  to  the 
principles  now  directed. 

Numerous  exceptions  were  taken  to  a  treaty  framed  on 
the  principle  of  these  instructions,  in  a  report*  subsequently 
made  to  congress  by  the  secretaiy  of  foreign  affairs. 
These  are  to  be  regarded,  not  as  exceptions  to  stipulations 

*  Report  of  Jay.— 2  D.  C.  234. 


302  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  the  most  perfect  equality  and  reciprocity  in  a  particu- 
lar treaty  with  any  one  nation,  where  the  interest  of  the 
country  might  dictate  them,  but  as  exceptions  to  the  es- 
tablishment, at  that  time,  of  a  general  system  of  policy,  ex- 
cluding all  discriminations  or  prohibitions,  however  their 
necessity  might  be  indicated  by  peculiar  circumstances. 
Jay  thought  that  a  system  for  regulating  the  trade  of  the 
United  States  should  be  framed  and  adopted  before  they 
entered  into  further  treaties  of  commerce.  Various  rea- 
sons were  given  to  show  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  make 
the  conduct  of  the  parties  towards  the  most  favoured  na- 
tions, the  rule  of  their  conduct  towards  each  other  ;  among 
these,  a  principal  one  was,  that  the  interchange  of  favours 
between  the  United  States  and  a  nation  merely  European, 
would  probably  be  regulated  by  principles  and  considera- 
tions distinct,  in  a  certain  degree,  from  those  which  should 
regulate  such  an  interchange  between  them  and  nations 
partly  European  and  partly  American.*  There  might,  he 
said,  exist  reasons  for  freely  granting  to  one  nation  what 
there  might  be  no  reason  for  granting  to  another.  He 
also  doubted  the  expediency  of  agreeing  absolutely  that 
any  nation  should  be  at  liberty  to  bring  and  vend  into  the 
United  States,  all  or  any  of  their  productions  and  manufac- 
tures without  exception,  because  it  might  be  necessary  to 
prohibit  the  importation  of  some  of  them,  either  to  check 
luxury,  or  to  promote  domestic  manufactures.! 


*  "  We  abstained,"  Jefferson  observed,  "  from  making  new  propositions  to 
others  having  no  colonies,  because  our  commerce  being  an  exchange  of  raw 
for  wrought  materials,  is  a  competent  price  for  admission  into  the  colonies 
of  those  possessing  them  ;  but  were  we  to  give  it  without  price  to  others, 
all  would  claim  it  without  price,  on  the  ordinary  ground  of  gentis  amicis- 
simse." — Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  1,  p.  51. 

t  In  the  treaty  which  was  the  immediate  subject  of  this  report,  one  arti- 
cle precluded  the  laying  an  embargo.  This  was  objected  to,  for  a  reason  not 
easily  disputed. 


HAMILTON.  303 

But  one  other  topic  of  moment  arrests  attention  in 
the  proceedings  of  this  congress.  It  related  to  the  garri- 
soning of  the  frontier  posts.  The  hostility  evinced  by 
New- York  to  the  employment  of  continental  troops  for 
that  purpose,  has  been  previously  mentioned.  The  expec- 
tation that  the  negotiation  which  was  pending  for  the  sur- 
render of  those  posts  would  be  successful,  produced  great 
anxiety  in  the  councils  of  that  state,  and  she  urged,  with 
extreme  earnestness  and  pertinacity,  a  declaration  by  con- 
gress, in  pursuance  of  the  articles  of  confederation,  of  the 
number  of  troops  necessary  to  be  kept  up  by  her  for  the 
protection  of  her  frontier.  This  subject,  though  frequently 
presented  to  that  body,  was  deferred  from  an  apprehension 
of  authorizing  an  individual  state  to  maintain  an  armed 
force.  To  avoid  this  alternative,  propositions  were  made 
in  congress  for  the  enlistment  of  a  thousand  men,  to  protect 
the  commissioners  recently  appointed  to  hold  treaties  with 
the  Indians,  and  to  defend  the  frontiers. 

The  fate  of  these  propositions  is  indicative  of  the  tem- 
per of  the  times.  After  repeated  and  laboured  debates,  a 
resolution  was  introduced  by  Gerry,  proclaiming  "  the 
danger  of  confiding  to  a  body,  which  was  already  empow- 
ered to  make  foreign  and  domestic  loans,  and  to  issue  bills 
of  credit,  that  of  raising  standing  armies ;"  and  it  was  de- 
termined to  discharge  the  few  troops  which  had  been 
retained  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  The  stand- 
ing army  was  reduced  to  eighty  men.  No  officer  was  re- 
tained of  a  higher  rank  than  captain,  and  the  western 
frontiers  were  to  be  protected  by  a  requisition  for  a  regi- 
ment of  militia.  The  congress  of  the  United  States  having, 
in  virtue  of  the  confederation,  at  the  instance  of  Jefferson, 
chosen  from  its  own  body  a  "  committee  of  the  states,"  now 
adjourned. 

This  committee  continued  in  session,  though  without 
effecting  any  thing,  until  the  nineteenth  of  August,  seven- 


304  THE    LIFE    OP 

teen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  when  some  of  the  members 
withdrawing,  without  the  consent  of  their  colleagues,  it 
broke  up,  without  the  decency  of  an  adjournment,  in  cla- 
morous confusion,  leaving  the  nation  without  any  repre- 
sentative council. 

The  congressional  year  of  their  successors  commenced 
on  the  first  of  November,  of  the  same  year,  but  a  quo- 
rum was  not  formed  until  the  succeeding  month.  Its 
history  is  alike  barren  of  interest ;  the  few  subjects 
upon  which  it  acted,  until  the  latter  part  of  its  session, 
being  the  organization  of  a  court  to  adjudicate  upon 
the  territorial  controversy  which  existed  between  the 
states  of  Massachusetts  and  New- York  ;  measures  for  the 
adjustment  of  a  similar  dispute  between  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia ;  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  treat 
with  the  southwestern  tribes  of  Indians  ;  the  selection  of  a 
site  for  a  federal  city,  and  an  ordinance  defining  the  pow- 
er and  duties  of  the  secretary  at  war.  These  being  arranged, 
a  decision  was  made  upon  a  matter  of  permanent  impor- 
tance— the  mode  of  disposing  of  the  western  territory. 
Much  discussion  on  this  subject  had  occurred  during  the 
previous  congress.  An  ordinance  was  now  passed,  "  the  re- 
sult of  compromise,  not  such  as  was  desired,  produced  by 
the  utmost  efforts  of  public  argument  and  private  solici- 
tation:1* 

A  provision  for  the  current  service  gave  rise  also  to  fre- 
quent deliberations,  which  were  concluded  by  a  vote  on 
the  report  of  the  grand  committee  of  congress,  a  short  time 
before  the  termination  of  its  political  existence.  By  this 
vote  a  requisition  was  made  upon  the  states  for  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  of  which  two-thirds  were  receivable  in 


*  From  a  letter  of  William  S.  Johnson,  a  man  of  a  probity  and  talent  as 
eminent,  and  views  as  comprehensive,  as  were  those  of  his  distinguished  fa- 
ther. 


HAMILTON.  305 

certificates  for  interest  on  the  liquidated  debts  ;  which 
amount  was  intended,  not  only  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
year,  but  also  the  balance  of  the  estimate  which  the  pre- 
ceding congress  had  omitted  to  require.  An  earnest  re- 
commendation was  also  made  for  the  completion  of  the 
measures  for  raising  revenue,  proposed  in  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three,  "  as  preferable  to  any  other  system, 
and  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  the  public  credit." 

Jefferson  meanwhile  had  proceeded  to  Paris,  intent 
upon  his  project  "  to  emancipate  commerce."  The  joint 
commission  was  opened  with  much  solemnity  on  the  thir- 
teenth of  August,  1784,  and  soon  after  its  powers  were 
announced  to  the  different  governments  of  Europe — France, 
Great  Britain,  Denmark,  Germany,  Prussia,  Sweden, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Russia,  Saxony,  the  Sicilies,  Sardinia, 
Tuscany,  Genoa,  Venice,  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tripoli,  Tunis, 
the  sublime  porte,  and  his  holiness  the  Pope  ! 

France  received  them  with  a  smile ;  England  silenced 
the  experiment  by  an  inquiry  as  to  "  the  real  nature  of 
the  powers  with  which  they  were  invested,  whether  they 
were  merely  commissioned  by  congress,  or  had  received 
separate  powers  from  the  respective  states."  The  other 
nations  stood  aloof.  Prussia  alone  formed  a  treaty  embra- 
cing some  of  the  principles  of  the  report,  but  insisted  upon 
reserving  the  right  of  prohibition  and  retaliation — rights 
which  the  American  commissioners  themselves  claimed  to 
reserve  in  their  negotiations  with  Tuscany !  The  commis- 
sion, thus  baffled  in  all  its  expectations,  ceased  to  act.* 

The  introduction  of  a  new  power  into  the  great  family 

*  Jefferson  relates — "  Denmark  and  Tuscany  entered  also  into  negotia- 
tions with  us ;  other  powers  appearing  indifferent,  we  did  not  think  it  pro- 
per to  press  them.  The  negotiations,  begun  with  Denmark  and  Tuscany,  we 
protracted  designedly,  until  our  powers  had  expired." — Jefferson's  Works, 
v.  1,  p.  51.  The  details  of  this  commission  may  be  found  in  the  six  reports 
to  congress,  with  the  accompanying  correspondence. — 2  D.  C.  193  to  347. 

39 


306  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  nations,  would  seem  to  have  been  an  event  fraught  with 
the  most  important  and  immediate  interest  to  the  civilized 
world,  and  an  American  might  have  hoped  to  have  seen 
her  vast  prospective  greatness  attracting  the  eyes  of  Eu- 
rope, and  commanding  all  its  attention.  But  the  impo- 
tence of  the  confederacy  and  the  visionary  objects  of  this 
commission  defeated  those  hopes.  From  these  causes  a 
larger  view  of  our  foreign  relations  would  seem  unneces- 
sary, were  it  not  for  the  powerful  influence  which  the 
policy  of  the  great  leading  powers  produced  on  the  social 
condition  of  the  American  states. 

Those  with  France,  their  ancient  ally,  first  attract  atten- 
tion. Nothing  is  more  obvious  in  all  her  policy  than  the 
sagacity  of  her  statesmen,  who  foresaw  that  the  moment 
her  political  influence  over  the  confederacy  ceased,  every 
other  connection  would  become  a  minor  consideration. 
Hence  her  solicitude  that  all  the  American  negotiations 
should  be  conducted  near  her  court.  But  England  and 
Spain  were  both  unwilling  that  Paris  should  be  the  centre 
of  political  action.  Great  Britain  insisted  as  a  previous 
condition  to  any  negotiation  an  embassy  to  London,  "  as 
more  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  either  power."  The  Span- 
ish minister  declared,  that  in  matters  between  its  crown 
and  any  other  power,  "  the  custom  of  its  court  (the  most 
regular  and  systematic  of  all  others)  was  to  negotiate  be- 
tween themselves,  without  availing  themselves  of  a  third 
place."  Franklin  having  resigned  his  seat  in  the  commis- 
sion, Adams,  in  consequence  of  these  intimations,  was  ac- 
credited to  the  court  of  St.  James ;  Jefferson  to  that  of 
Versailles ;  and  Spain  appointed  a  sort  of  intermediate 
minister — a  "  plenipotentiary  charge  d'affaires,"  to  reside 
at  the  seat  of  congress. 

While  the  force  of  habit  formed  during  her  colonial 
relations,  similarity  of  language,  laws,  and  manners,  all 
attracted  the  American  people  to  England,  other  causes 


HAMILTON.  307 

operated  as  insuperable  obstacles  to  an  extensive  com- 
merce between  the  United  States  and  France. 

The  poverty  of  the  American  people  denied  to  them  the 
luxuries  of  their  ally.  The  inferior  fabric  and  peculiar 
fashion  of  articles  of  primary  necessity,  prevented  their 
being  introduced  into  general  use.  For  those  which  were 
sought,  few  American  products  would  be  received  in  ex- 
change ;  while  the  commercial  system  of  France,  yet  in 
its  infancy,  charged  the  objects  of  commerce  with  such  a 
multiplicity  oT  duties,  and  those  so  oppressive  as  to  deter 
enterprise.  The  principal  article  of  exchange  was  the 
subject  of  a  monopoly,  and  charged  with  a  duty  to  the 
crown,  of  too  much  value  to  be  relinquished  by  a  needy 
monarch.*  On  other  articles  accumulated  duties  were  le- 
vied, and  these  were  partitioned  among  so  many  recipients, 
as  placed  it  beyond  the  power  of  the  financier  to  reduce 
them  to  one  denomination ;  while  the  political  influence 
of  the  beneficiaries  would  not  permit  them  to  be  diminished 
or  suppressed.  These  were  some  of  the  embarrassments 
to  a  direct  trade.  The  colonial  trade  had  been  long  con- 
ducted under  a  most  rigid  system,  and  as  the  treaty  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-eight  had  secured  to  France 
the  free  admission  of  her  manufactures  into  the  United 
States,  they  had  nothing  to  offer  in  the  shape  of  immunities 
to  open  the  sealed  commerce  of  her  islands,  f 

Soon  after  his  return  to  Europe,  La  Fayette,  at  whose 


*  Tobacco  yielded  twenty-eight  millions.  It  constituted  one-third  of  the 
whole  exports  of  the  United  States  prior  to  the  revolution. 

t  Compelled  by  necessity,  France  opened  her  colonial  ports  during  the  war, 
but  at  its  close,  by  an  arret,  dated  thirtieth  of  August,  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-four,  she  permitted  the  importation  into  them  only  of  a  few  articles  of 
primary  necessity,  and  confined  the  exports  to  rum,  molasses,  and*goods 
brought  from  France,  which  paid  the  local  duties  with  an  advalorem  of  one 
per  cent.  A  discriminating  duty  was  also  imposed  on  salted  beef  and  dried 
fish,  to  form  a  fund  for  the  encouragement  of  the  French  fisheries. 


308  THE    LIFE    OF 

instance  the  free  ports  stipulated  in  the  treaty  of  seventeen 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  were  designated,  made  strong 
representations  to  his  court  of  the  benefits  to  be  anticipated 
from  enlarging  the  commercial  intercourse  of  the  two 
countries.  The  representations  were  renewed  by  Jeffer- 
son often  and  with  much  detail,  but  the  progress  of  the 
negotiation  was  slow — indicative  of  the  altered  temper 
of  Vergennes,  from  his  failure  to  control  the  definitive 
treaty  with  England — and  attended  with  circumstances  not 
a  little  wounding  to  American  pride. 

The  first  letter  addressed  to  that  minister  received  no 
other  answer  than  that  it  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
comptroller-general.  To  subsequent  communications  it 
was  replied,  "  that  not  a  sufficient  dependence  could  be 
placed  on  arrangements  taken  with  us ;"  and  an  act  of  one 
of  the  states,  by  which  a  discrimination  of  duties  was  made 
between  natives  and  foreigners,  became  the  subject  of  a 
letter  from  the  premier,  which,  after  reproaching  the 
American  minister  with  a  disregard  of  reciprocity  in  our 
navigation  laws  and  commercial  regulations,  closed  with  a 
threat,  "  that  the  king  will  be  under  the  necessity,  contrary 
to  his  wishes,  to  fall  upon  such  means  as  will  tend  to  put 
matters  upon  a  perfect  equality."* 

These  complaints  were  referred  to  the  secretary  of  fo- 
reign affairs,  whose  report  admitted  that  the  French  mer- 
chants enjoyed  fewer  privileges  than  the  merchants  of  the 
United  States  did  in  France,  and  that  the  act  of  Massachu- 
setts "  had  deviated  both  from  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the 
treaty."!  While  the  impotence  of  the  confederation  thus 
subjected  it  to  the  just  reproach  of  a  breach  of  faith  to- 
wards their  ally,  it  also  gave  rise  to  reclamations  for  indi- 
vidual claims,  the  justice  whereof  could  not  be  denied,  and 
which  there  were  no  means  to  discharge.  The  disappoint- 

«  2  D.  C.  488.  t  1  D.  C.  243. 


HAMILTON.  309 

ments  that  followed  produced  great  irritation  among  the 
French  residents  in  the  United  States,  which  extended  to 
her  legation,  and  drew  from  them  remonstrances,  wherein 
the  respect  due  to  an  independent  government  was  often 
forgotten. 

In  vain  did  congress  renew  their  assurances  of  eventual 
payment,  founded  on  the  good  faith  of  the  states.  Dis- 
criminations in  the  provision  for  the  interest  on  their 
debts,  from  which  provision  foreigners  were  expressly  ex- 
cluded by  some  of  the  states,  were  pointed  out,  and  the 
very  ground  on  which  the  delay  of  justice  was  excused, 
the  inability  to  compel  the  collection  of  taxes,  gave  rise  to 
the  taunting  inquiry,  ~"  Is  there  one,  or  are  there  eleven 
republics  ?" 

It  being  a  leading  maxim  in  Jefferson's  politics  "  to  mul- 
tiply the  points  of  contact  and  connection"  with  France, 
it  will  be  seen,  that  he  used  every  means  to  promote  inter- 
course with  a  people  whose  habits,  manners,  tastes,  and 
morals  he  admired. 

The  insufficient  provision  for  the  interest  and  instal- 
ments then  due  of  the  debt  to  France,  led  to  a  proposition 
to  purchase  it.  The  terms  of  this  proposition  are  found  in 
the  secret  journal  of  congress  of  the  second  of  October, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  giving  an  extract  of 
a  letter  from  Jefferson  to  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs : — 
"  That  a  proposition  has  been  made  to  Monsieur  de  Ca- 
lonne,  minister  of  the  finances  of  France,  by  a  company 
of  Dutch  merchants,  to  purchase  the  debt  due  from  the 
United  States  to  the  crown  of  France  ;  giving  for  the  said 
debt,  amounting  to  twenty-four  millions  of  livres,  the  sum 
of  twenty  millions  of  livres.  That  information  of  this 
proposition  has  been  given  to  him  by  the  agent  of  the 
said  company,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  whether  the 
proposed  negotiation  would  be  agreeable  to  congress. 
That  the  said  minister  suggests,  '  that  if  there  is  a  danger 


310  THE   LIFE   OP 

of  the  public  payments  not  being  punctual,  whether  it  might 
not  be  better  that  the  discontents  which  would  then  arise, 
should  be  transferred  from  a  court  of  whose  good  will  we 
have  so  much  need,  to  the  breasts  of  a  private  company.1 
That  the  credit  of  the  United  States  is  sound  in  Holland ; 
and  that  it  would  probably  not  be  difficult  to  borrow  in 
that  country  the  whole  sum  of  money  due  to  the  court  of 
France,  and  to  discharge  that  debt  without  any  deduc- 
tion ;  thereby  doing  what  would  be  grateful  to  the  court, 
and  establishing  with  them  a  confidence  in  our  honour."* 

This  subject  was  resumed  in  a  letter  from  Jefferson  to 
Jay  of  the  twelfth  of  November  following.!  He  WTote  : 
"  In  a  letter  which  I  had  the  honour  of  writing  you  on  the 
twenty-sixth  December,  I  informed  you  that  a  Dutch  com- 
pany were  making  propositions  to  the  minister  of  France 
here,  to  purchase  at  a  discount  the  debt  due  from  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  this  country.  I  have  lately  procured  a  copy 
of  their  memoir,  which  I  now  enclose.  Should  congress 
think  this  subject  worthy  their  attention,  they  have  no 
time  to  lose,  as  the  necessities  of  the  minister,  which  alone 
have  made  him  to  listen  to  this  proposition,  may  force  him 
to  a  speedy  conclusion." 

The  former  of  these  letters  was  referred  to  the  board 
of  Treasury,  who  on  the  second  of  October  of  the  follow- 
ing year  made  a  report ;  which,  after  reciting  the  previous 
extracts  of  the  letter  of  Jefferson,  contains  comments  full 
of  meaning : — 

"  That  at  the  time  the  debt  due  from  the  United  States 
to  the  crown  of  France  was  contracted,  it  could  not  have 
been  foreseen  that  the  different  members  of  the  union 
would  have  hesitated  to  make  effectual  provision  for  the 
discharge  of  the  same,  since  it  had  been  contracted  for 
the  security  of  the  lives,  liberties,  and  property  of  their 

*  4  S.  J.  386.  t  3  D.  C.  175. 


HAMILTON.  311 

several  citizens,  who  had  solemnly  pledged  themselves  for 
its  redemption ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  honour  of  the 
United  States  cannot  be  impeached,  for  having  authorized 
their  minister  at  the  court  of  France  to  enter  into  a  formal 
convention,  acknowledging  the  amount  of  the  said  debt, 
and  stipulating  for  the  reimbursement  of  the  principal  and 
interest  due  thereon. 

"  That  should  the  United  States  at  this  period  give  any 
sanction  to  the  transfer  of  this  debt,  or  attempt  to  make  a 
loan  in  Holland  for  the  discharge  of  the  same,  the  persons 
interested  in  the  transfer,  or  in  the  loan,  would  have  rea- 
son to  presume  that  the  United  States  in  congress  would 
make  effectual  provision  for  the  punctual  payment  of  the 
principal  and  interest. 

"  That  the  prospect  of  such  provision  being  made  within 
a  short  period,  is  by  no  means  flattering;  and  though  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  is  still  sound  in  Holland,  from 
the  exertions  which  have  been  made  to  discharge  the  in- 
terest due  to  the  subscribers  to  the  loans  in  that  country, 
yet,  in  the  opinion  of  this  board,  it  would  be  unjust  as  well 
as  impolitic,  to  give  any  public  sanction  to  the  proposed 
negotiation.  Unjust,  because  the  nation  would  contract 
an  engagement  without  any  well-grounded  expectation  of 
discharging  it  with  proper  punctuality.  Impolitic,  because 
a  failure  in  the  payment  of  interest  accruing  from  this  ne- 
gotiation (which  would  inevitably  happen)  would  justly 
blast  all  hopes  of  credit  with  the  citizens  of  the  United 
Netherlands,  when  the  exigencies  of  the  union  might  ren- 
der new  loans  indispensably  necessary. 

"  The  board  beg  leave  further  to  observe,  that  although  a 
grateful  sense  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  court  of 
France,  would  undoubtedly  induce  the  United  States  in 
congress  to  make  every  possible  exertion  for  the  reim- 
bursement of  the  moneys  advanced  by  his  most  Christian 
majesty,  yet,  that  they  cannot  presume  that  it  would  tend 


312  THE   LIFE   OF 

to  establish  in  the  mind  of  the  French  court  an  idea  of 
the  national  honour  of  this  country,  to  involve  individuals 
in  a  heavy  loan,  at  a  time  when  congress  were  fully  sensi- 
ble that  their  resources  were  altogether  inadequate  to  dis- 
charge even  the  interest  of  the  same,*  much  less  the  instal- 
ments of  the  principal,  which  would  from  time  to  time  be- 
come due.  How  far  the  idea  of  transferring  the  discontents 
which  may  prevail  in  the  French  court,  for  the  want  of  the 
punctual  payment  of  interest,  to  the  breast  of  the  private 
citizens  of  Holland,  would  be  consistent  with  sound  policy, 
the  board  forbear  to  enlarge  on. 

"  It  may  be  proper,  however,  to  observe,  that  the  public 
integrity  of  a  nation  is  the  best  shield  of  defence  against 
any  calamities  to  which,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  she 
may  find  herself  exposed. 

"  This  principle,  so  far  as  it  respects  the  conduct  of  the 
United  States  in  contracting  the  loans  with  France,  cannot 
be  called  in  question.  The  reverse  would  be  the  case, 
should  the  sanction  of  the  United  States  be  given  either 
to  the  transfer  of  the  French  debt,  or  to  the  negotiation  of 
a  loan  in  Holland  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  it. 

"  If  it  be  further  considered,  that  the  consequences  of  a 
failure  in  the  punctual  payment  of  interest  on  the  moneys 
borrowed  by  the  United  States,  can  by  no  means  be  so 
distressing  to  a  nation,  (and  one  powerful  in  resources,)  as 
it  would  be  to  individuals,  whose  dependence  for  support 
is  frequently  on  the  interest  of  the  moneys  loaned,  the 
board  presume  that  the  proposed  negotiation  cannot  be 
considered  at  the  present  juncture,  in  any  point  of  view, 
either  as  eligible  or  proper.  Under  these  circumstances, 

*  Jefferson  wrote  to  Carmichael  at  Madrid,  June  14,  1787  : — "  New- York 
still  refuses  to  pass  the  impost  in  any  form,  and  were  she  to  pass  it,  Pennsyl- 
vania will  not  uncouple  it  from  the  supplementary  funds.  These  two  states 
and  Virginia,  are  the  only  ones,  my  letters  say,  which  have  paid  any  thing 
into  the  continental  treasury  for  a  twelvemonth  past." 


HAMILTON.  313 

they  submit  it  as  their  opinion,  "  that  it  would  be  proper 
without  delay  to  instruct  the  minister  of  the  United  States 
at  the  court  of  France,*  not  to  give  any  sanction  to  any 
negotiation  which  may  be  proposed  for  transferring  the 
debt  due  from  the  United  States,  to  any  state,  or  compa- 
ny of  individuals,  who  may  be  disposed  to  purchase  the 
same." 

So  jealous  were  congress  of  the  injury  which  this  pro- 
position might  inflict  on  the  national  character,  that  on  the 
clay  on  which  this  report  is  dated,  they  instantly  passed 
an  act  instructing  Jefferson  not  to  promote  any  negotia- 
tion for  transferring  the  debt  due  to  France  from  the 
United  States.f 

Thus  the  national  honour  was  saved,  but  the  lure  had 
succeeded.  In  prosecution  of  the  project,  a  letter  was  ad- 
dressed by  Jefferson  to  Dumas,J  to  ascertain  its  practica- 
bility ;  whose  reply  evinced  a  preference  of  a  purchase 
for  a  sum  less  than  its  face,  to  a  loan  for  the  whole  amount, 
and  urged  prompt  action,  stating  that  the  sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  France,  would  be  very  smalL  An  arret  was 
accordingly  framed  and  submitted  to  Calonne.  That  min- 
ister, grasping  at  such  a  prospect  of  relief  from  his  finan- 
cial difficulties,  soon  after  this  purchase  was  suggested, 
addressed  a  letter  to  Jefferson,  giving  the  assurance  that 
the  monopolies  on  particular  articles  would  not  be  renew- 
ed, and  that  the  duties  on  most  of  the  imports,  the  growth 
of  the  United  States,  in  French  or  American  vessels,  were 
"  suppressed."§  The  execution  of  this  arrangement  was, 

*  3  D.  C.  183.  t  3  D.  C.  289. 

t  Dumas  had  a  pension  from  France,  revertible  to  his  daughter. 

§  3  Dip.  Cor.  163.— Oct.  22, 1786.— This  letter  also  states,  that  as  Virginia 
had  ordered  arms  for  her  militia  from  France,  the  duties  and  prohibition  of 
them  should  be  abolished.  Similar  supplies  had  been  furnished  by  France 
to  her  during  the  war,  which  gave  rise  to  questions  in  the  settlement  of  the 
accounts.  A  more  serious  difficulty  grew  out  of  an  act  of  that  state,  passed 
pending  Jefferson's  negotiation  about  the  debt,  giving  a  preference  to  French 

40 


314  THE    LIFE    OV 

however,  suspended,  not  improbably  in  consequence  of  the 
rejection  by  congress  of  the  proposed  transfer  of  the  debt. 
But  the  disturbances  in  Holland,  and  the  hostile  appear- 
ances in  Europe,  notwithstanding  a  temporary  pacification, 
ultimately  induced  the  issuing  of  arrets,  enlarging  in  some 
particulars,  and  abridging  in  others,  the  former  arrange- 
ment. 

One  topic  of  discussion  yet  remained.  It  has  been  pre- 
viously mentioned  that  the  treaty  with  France  provided 
for  the  mutual  appointment  of  consuls,  under  a  convention 
to  be  framed  between  the  respective  governments.  This 
subject  was  not  acted  upon  until  July,  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-one  ;  immediately  after  the  resolutions,  submit- 
ting the  terms  of  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  had  been 
passed.  A  memoir  was  at  that  time  presented  by  La  Lu- 
zerne,  containing  a  draft  of  a  consular  convention,  pre- 
pared at  Paris. 

It  was  in  its  essential  features  approved  by  congress  the 
following  January,  with  one  material  difference.  The 
French  plan  proposed  the  presentation,  by  their  consuls,  of 
their  commissions  to  the  respective  states,  which  were  to 
grant  them  their  exequaturs.  The  American  draft  required 
that  the  consuls  should,  "  in  the  first  instance"  present  their 
commissions  to  congress,  to  be  recognised  by  them  by  a 
public  act,  and  then  to  have  validity  in  the  states.  This 
plan  was  sent  to  Franklin,  with  instructions  to  exercise  his 
discretion  as  to  the  words  or  arrangement  of  it,  but  to 
confine  himself  in  all  important  respects  to  its  substance. 

brandies.  The  minister  of  the  Netherlands  presented  a  remonstrance  against 
this  preference,  as  a  breach  of  treaty.  In  this  treaty,  Adams  had  omitted 
an  important  provision,  securing  compensation  for  privileges  ;  but  the  United 
States  considered  this  as  a  gratuitous  favour.  The  injury  was  acknowledged, 
and  resolutions  were  adopted  by  congress,  urging  Virginia  to  repeal  the  act, 
founded  on  a  report  from  the  department  of  foreign  affairs,  censuring  the 
granting  of  favours  by  any  state. — 4  S.  J.  401. 


HAMILTON.  315 

A  convention  was  entered  into  by  him,  and  was  submitted 
to  congress  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four  ;  France 
having  in  the  mean  time  appointed  Marbois  consul-gener- 
al, with  a  subordinate  corps  of  consuls  and  vice-consuls. 
On  the  consideration  of  this  convention,  congress,  at  the 
instance  of  Jay,  unanimously  resolved,  that  instructions 
should  be  given  that  the  signature  of  the  convention 
should  be  delayed  until  further  advices,  unless  it  had  been 
already  signed.  A  despatch  from  Franklin  announced  that 
it  had  been  already  signed,  and  that  a  copy  had  been  so 
long  since  transmitted  to  congress,  that  its  ratification  was 
expected  ;  he  added, "  I  am  not  informed  what  objection  has 
arisen  in  congress  to  the  plan  sent  me.  Mr.  Jefferson 
thinks  it  may  have  been  to  that  part  which  restrained  the 
consuls  from  all  concerns  in  commerce"*  Congress  had 
delayed  to  act  upon  it,  until,  a  formal  demand  of  its  ratifi- 
cation being  made  by  France,  the  convention  was  deliber- 
ately examined  by  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs. 

On  this  examination  it  appeared  that  it  proposed  three 
principal  objects,  in  the  promotion  of  which,  it  was  mani- 
fest, that  the  United  States  had  no  interest. 

The  first  was,  a  provision  against  the  infraction  of  the 
French  and  American  laws  of  trade.  As  the  United 
States  had  no  laws  for  the  regulation  of  her  commerce  with 
France  or  her  dominions,  there  could  be  no  use  in  a  pro- 
vision against  the  infraction  of  them.  The  second  was, 
a  restriction  of  the  emigration  to  the  other,  of  the  people 
of  either  country,  which,  as  there  was  no  reason  to  ap- 
prehend emigration  from  the  United  States  to  France,  was 
superfluous.  The  third,  established  a  corps  of  "  consuls, 
vice-consuls,  and  agents,"  so  coherent,  so  capable  of  acting 
jointly  and  secretly,  and  so  ready  to  obey  the  order  of 
their  chief,  that  it  could  not  fail  of  being  influential  in  two 

2  Dip.  Cor.  44. 


316  THE    LIFE    OF 

very  important  political  respects — the  acquisition  and 
communication  of  intelligence,  and  the  dissemination  and 
impression  of  such  advices,  sentiments,  and  opinions,  of 
men  and  measures,  as  it  might  be  deemed  expedient  to  dif- 
fuse and  encourage."  An  arrangement,  which,  in  France. 
"  where  nothing  could  be  printed  without  being  licensed, 
or  said  without  being  known,  and,  if  disliked,  followed 
with  inconvenience,  and  where  the  people  being  perfectly 
unimportant,  every  measure  to  influence  their  opinions 
must  be  equally  so,  could  be  of  no  use  to  America,"  but 
which  in  the  United  States  would  be  most  dangerous  to 
her  institutions. 

The  powers  and  immunities  with  which  this  corps  was 
clothed,  were  equally  objectionable.  By  one  article,  certi- 
fied declarations  made  before  the  consuls,  were  to  be  re- 
ceived in  evidence  as  conclusive.  By  another,  the  consuls 
were  invested  with  jurisdiction  over  all  offences  in  which 
the  citizens  of  the  respective  countries  were  parties,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  civil  tribunals  constitutionally  created, 
while  full  immunity  was  conferred  on  their  persons,  pa- 
pers, houses,  and  dependants.  Consular  chanceries  were 
also  created,  which  in  many  respects  clashed  with  the  in- 
ternal policy  of  the  United  States,  and  a  complete  jurisdic- 
tion was  given  over  French  vessels  in  American  harbours. 
It  is  also  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  the  original  feature 
in  the  French  plan,  which  directed  the  commissions  to 
be  presented  on  their  arrival  to  the  respective  states,  ac- 
cording to  the  forms  established  there,  was  retained,  not- 
withstanding the  express  instruction  to  follow  the  plan  of 
congress,  which  directed  these  commissions,  "in  the  first 
instance"  to  be  presented  to  them.  This,  connected  with 
the  suggestion  of  Vergennes  to  Adams,  that  each  state 
should  appoint  its  own  ministers,  combined  with  the  other 
circumstances  of  a  direct  loan  being  made  by  France  to 
Virginia,  and  a  commercial  exemption  being  obtained  from 


HAMILTON.  317 

her,  leaves  a  strong  implication  that  France  had  in  view 
relations  with  the  individual  states,  independent  of  congress, 
and  in  direct  violation  of  the  articles  of  confederation,  and 
that  Jefferson  was  not  insensible  of  the  advantages  Vir- 
ginia might  derive  from  these  dispositions.  The  position  of 
the  United  States  was  not  a  little  embarrassing.  The 
scheme  having  been  framed  by  a  former  legislature,  was 
conclusive  upon  the  country,  and  its  execution  was  ur- 
gently pressed  by  the  French  charge  d'affaires. 

As  the  only  alternative,  instructions  were  transmitted  to 
Jefferson  to  state  the  objections  to  the  present  form,  and  to 
give  assurances  of  their  readiness  to  ratify  a  convention 
agreeable  to  the  scheme  originally  framed,  on  the  condition 
of  its  being  limited  to  eight  or  ten  years,  instead  of  its  be- 
ing perpetual,  as  was  first  agreed.  After  much  negotia- 
tion, a  convention  liable  to  fewer  objections  than  that 
signed  by  Franklin,  was  concluded  in  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-eight ;  and  after  an  inquiry  how  far  it  was  ob- 
ligatory upon  the  country,  was  ratified  from  necessity  by 
the  present  government. 

The  fruitless  efforts  made  by  the  Spanish  resident  at 
Paris  to  induce  Jay  to  enter  into  a  treaty,  the  basis  of 
which  was  a  sacrifice  of  a  large  part  of  the  undoubted  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States,  and,  as  a  consequence  of  such 
sacrifice,  the  total  abandonment  of  the  Mississippi,  have 
been  the  subject  of  previous  comment. 

On  the  third  of  June,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four, 
a  few  days  after  Jay  had  been  elected  secretary  of  foreign 
affairs,  and  Jefferson  chosen  commissioner  in  his  place,  it 
was  thought  advisable  to  renew  the  instructions  of  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty-two  ;  and  a  resolution,  moved  by 
Nathan  Dane,  of  Massachusetts,  passed,  directing  the  Amer- 
ican commissioners  "  not  to  relinquish  or  cede,  in  any  event, 
the  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  source  to  the  ocean." 


318  THE    LIFE    OP 

It  has  been  seen  that,  notwithstanding  the  recent  nego- 
tiation with  Jay  at  Paris,  the  commissioners,  or  some  of 
them,  were  required  to  repair  to  Madrid.  This  was  not 
acceded  to,  and  Spain,  sensible  of  her  error,  sought  to  re- 
move the  prejudices  of  the  United  States  by  a  course  of 
conciliation.  She  mediated  a  peace  between  them  and  the 
emperor  of  Morocco,  on  terms  favourable  to  the  former. 
She  released  a  number  of  Americans,  who  had  been  im- 
prisoned at  Havana  for  breaches  of  her  navigation  laws, 
and  she  commissioned  Gardoqui,  a  partner  of  a  commercial 
house  at  Bilboa,  who  had  been  the  medium  of  aids  from 
Spain  at  an  early  period  of  the  revolution,  to  negotiate  a 
treaty.  He  arrived  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five, 
when  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  was  authorized  to 
treat  with  him. 

The  point  upon  which  the  former  negotiation  had  broken 
off,  still  remained  an  insuperable  obstacle.  While  Spain 
offered  to  treat  on  terms,  in  other  respects  deemed  by  Jay 
of  the  greatest  advantage,  she  still  insisted  upon  the  reten- 
tion of  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  consequent- 
ly upon  the  exclusion  of  our  citizens  from  its  navigation. 
Late  in  the  preceding  year  she  had  caused  it  to  be  announced 
to  the  United  States,  that  vessels  trading  through  that  river 
would  be  exposed  to  process  and  confiscation.  The  obstruc- 
tion of  them,  by  her  garrison  at  Natchez,  was  indicative 
of  her  determination  to  enforce  her  pretensions.  The 
question  now  assumed  a  new  aspect.  The  navigation 
could  not  be  permanently  relinquished.  To  submit  to  the 
enforcement  of  her  restrictions,  while  their  justice  was  de- 
nied, would  be  humiliation  ;  to  resist  by  arms,  was  war. 

Influenced  by  this  state  of  things,  by  his  impression  of 
the  other  advantages  of  the  treaty,  and  by  the  consider- 
ation that  Spain  was  in  possession  of  posts  on  both  branches 
of  the  river,  rather  than  the  United  States,  without  money, 
without  credit,  and  without  an  army,  should  be  plunged 


HAMILTON.  319 

into  a  war,  "  with  very  little  prospect  of  terminating  it  by 
a  peace,  either  advantageous  or  glorious,"  the  American 
secretary  attended  congress,  and  enforced*  the  propriety 
of  a  treaty,  limited  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ;  one  of 
the  articles  of  which  would  have  stipulated  the  forbear- 
ance of  our  citizens  to  use  its  navigation  below  their  own 
territories  to  the  ocean  for  a  like  term.  This  proposition 
gave  great  offence.  The  delegates  from  the  northern 
states  approving  it,  while  those  of  the  southern  condemned 
it.  A  motion  was  made  to  revoke  his  commission,  which 
was  defeated ;  and  a  resolution  was  introduced,  repealing 
the  instruction  to  stipulate  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  the  ocean,  consenting  to  a  modified  use  of  it,f 
but  with  a  proviso  to  insist  upon  the  territorial  limits  fixed 
by  the  definitive  treaty  with  Great  Britain.  A  strong  re- 
monstrance was  made  by  the  delegates  of  Virginia,  in 
which,  not  merely  these  questions,  but  the  whole  plan  of 
the  treaty,  was  objected  to.J 

Jay's  plan  proposed  to  give  to  the  merchants,  vessels,  pro- 
ductions, and  manufactures  of  each  country,  the  same 
privileges  as  if  they  were  those  of  the  country  itself.  It 
was  urged  that  as  Spain  made  no  discrimination  in  her 
ports  between  her  merchants  and  those  of  other  nations, 
by  this  article  the  United  States  relinquished  the  right  of 
making  any  discrimination,  however  beneficial  it  might  be 
to  her,  without  any  consideration.  As  to  the  vessels,  it 
was  objected  that  as  Spain  admitted  those  of  all  coun- 


*  6  D.  C.  165.— August  3d,  1786. 

t  These  modifications  were,  permission  to  land  and  store  American  produc- 
tions at  New-Orleans  ;  an  advalorem  duty  to  be  paid  to  Spain  on  all  ship- 
ments thence  by  American  citizens ;  permission  to  our  merchants  to  re- 
side there ;  a  privilege  to  American  vessels  to  return  from  its  mouth  to  that 
port,  but  not  to  carry  any  goods,  contrary  to  the  regulations  of  Spain,  under 
pain  of  confiscation. 

t  4  S.  J.  87. 


320  THE    LIFE    OF 

tries,  even  in  the  carriage  of  her  own  productions,  "  the 
United  States  bound  themselves  up  again  without  a  valuable 
consideration."  As  to  productions,  by  the  policy  of  Spain 
we  now  enjoyed  the  free  admission  of  them ;  nothing 
therefoi-e  could  be  gained  to  us  in  this  respect ;  and  when 
our  "  commerce  is  subjected  to  the  most  severe  restric- 
tions in  almost  every  foreign  port — fish  being  excluded  by 
France  and  Britain — the  Mediterranean  shut  against  us — 
the  West  Indies  occluded  almost  altogether — the  wheat 
and  rice  trade  thus  greatly  injured — tobacco  in  France  a 
monopoly,  in  Spain  contraband — one  would  suppose  it 
the  duty  of  every  wise  American  statesman  to  secure  our 
rights  and  interests  at  home — to  give  in  our  own  ports  to 
our  own  citizens  exclusive  privileges ;  but  of  this  advan- 
tage the  project  would  deprive  them."  This  proposed  stip- 
ulation was  objected  to  on  other  grounds.  It  would  be 
contrary  to  the  policy  of  the  British  navigation  act, "  by 
the  wisdom  of  which,  and  of  her  other  regulations  in  com- 
merce, it  was  stated,  Britain  had  attained  to  such  a  height 
of  power  and  grandeur  on  the  seas  as  to  be  at  the  same 
time  the  terror  and  the  admiration  of  the  world  ;"  and  yet  of 
the  benefits  of  such  a  policy  and  making  such  discrimina- 
tions this  project  would  deprive  us.  As  to  manufactures, 
it  was  urged  that  the  right  of  prohibition  or  restriction  on 
exports  or  imports  was  given  up.  This  was  without  a  pre- 
cedent, unless  it  was  the  "  family  compact,"  which  proved 
inconvenient  and  was  annulled  ;  independent  nations  hav- 
ing always  retained  the  right  of  regulating  their  own  inte- 
rior police,  and  thus  of  securing  reciprocity  ;  a  right,  the  ex- 
ercise of  which  would  be  subservient  to  various  purposes — 
the  promotion  of  virtue  and  frugality,  by  the  prohibition  of 
foreign  luxuries — the  encouragement  of  manufactures  and 
of  the  mechanical  arts,  by  the  prohibition  of  imports.  The 
treaties  with  France  and  other  powers  stipulated  to  each 
the  right  of  the  most  favoured  nations.  These  nations 


HAMILTON.  321 

coming  into  the  terms  of  Spain,  in  doing  which  they  will 
give  up  nothing,  will  be  entitled  to  these  benefits  ;  "  the 
evils  of  this  project  will  be  therefore  almost  universal,  and  of 
course  without  remedy."  The  surrender  or  forbearance  of 
the  use  of  the  Mississippi  was  objected  to  as  inconsistent  with 
the  compact  with  Virginia  as  to  the  western  territory.  And 
it  was  also  contended  that  its  effect  would  be  to  dismem- 
ber the  government  by  a  treaty  of  commerce,  which  could 
not  be  done  under  a  limited  power  to  treat. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  select  an  instance  in  which  the 
United  States  had  less  motive  to  reserve  or  to  exert  the 
power  of  discrimination  or  prohibition.  As  to  vessels, 
from  the  course  of  the  trade,  the  cargoes  and  the  superior 
economy  of  American  navigation,  a  successful  competition 
on  the  part  of  Spain  was  hopeless.  How  the  policy  of 
the  British  navigation  act  could,  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, the  United  States  being  the  carriers,  have  been  ad- 
vantageously adopted,  it  is  not  easy  to  suppose.  As  to 
productions,  the  only  object  of  Spanish  traffic  the  impor- 
tation of  which  this  country  has  found  it  expedient  to  pro- 
hibit, is  that  of  slaves.  As  to  manufactures,  those  of 
Spain  have  never  sought  the  American  market. 

But  it  was  urged,  if  the  commerce  with  Spain  should  be 
placed  on  the  footing  of  natives,  that  France  and  Sweden 
would  in  virtue  of  their  treaties  be  entitled  to  the  same 
terms,  only  by  reciprocating  to  the  United  States  the  same 
privilege.  Was  this  an  evil  to  be  deprecated  ? 

It  cannot  escape  observation  how  entirely  the  principles 
of  this  report  are  at  variance  with  the  instructions  pro- 
posed by  Jefferson.  Its  details  have  been  given  chiefly  to 
show  how  great  and  rapid  had  been  the  change  of  opinion 
as  to  the  commercial  policy  of  this  country,  two  years 
only  having  elapsed  since  the  approval  of  those  instruc- 
tions by  congress.  That  Virginia  should  have  been  the 
first  state  since  the  peace  to  have  proposed,  and  the  first 

41 


322  THE    LIFE    OF 

to  have  objected  to  a  system  of  free  trade,  is  only  an  in- 
stance of  the  error  of  applying  rigidly  general  maxims  of 
policy  to  the  conduct  of  nations,  without  regard  to  the 
modifications  circumstances  may  indicate.  Nor  will  it  fail 
to  be  remarked  as  additional  evidence  of  the  timid  coun- 
sels by  which  that  state  had  been  governed,  that  though 
in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  her  legislature  had 
instructed  Madison  to  authorize  Jay  to  cede  the  right  of 
navigating  the  Mississippi  to  Spain  absolutely  and  for 
ever,  she  now  declared  that  to  consent  to  a  suspension  of 
that  right  would  be  "  to  dismember"  the  government. 

The  importance  Spain  attached  to  that  right,  is  shown 
not  only  by  her  conduct  during  the  war,  but  by  the 
promptitude  with  which  she  opened  a  negotiation  respect- 
ing it  after  the  peace.  Claiming  the  exclusive  right,  and 
denying  the  pretensions  of  this  country,  it  was  thought  to 
be  an  important  object  attained  if  a  treaty  could  be  made 
which  would  imply  that  she  accepted  the  use  of  the  river 
as  the  lessee  of  the  United  states  for  a  specified  time,  and 
thus  virtually  recognised  the  reversionary  right  to  be  in 
them  ;  thus  terminating  all  questions  of  ownership. 

Impelled  by  this  strong  motive,  and  little  anticipating 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  western  territory,  Jay  considering 
that  by  this  treaty  the  United  States  "  gained  much,  and 
sacrificed  or  gave  up  nothing,"  continued  his  negotiation 
with  the  charge  of  Spain.  He  fortunately  refused  "  to 
admit  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  below  their  limits 
on  any  terms,  nor  would  he  consent  to  any  article  acknow- 
ledging their  right  in  express  terms,  and  stipulating  to  for- 
bear the  use  of  it  for  a  given  time,"  a  difficulty  that  Jay 
supposed  could  be  overcome  by  implication,  in  which  idea 
Gardoqui  concurred. 

The  vote  prohibiting  a  surrender  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  was  a  vote  of  nine  states  :  that  authorizing 
this  compromise  was  given  by  seven  states.  The  consti- 


HAMILTON.  323 

tutionality  of  this  vote  was  denied  by  the  southern  states : 
and  as  the  division  was  geographical,  gave  rise  to  much 
excitement.  On  the  part  of  the  south,  it  was  alleged  that 
New-England  was  solely  actuated  by  a  desire  to  check 
the  population  of  the  west,  and  thus  maintain  her  prepon- 
derance in  the  union.  The  eastern  states  having  opposed 
the  alienation  or  suspension  of  this  right  when  the  south- 
ern states  were  its  advocates,  repelled  the  charge,  and 
urged  that  this  temporary  cession  would  fix  the  permanent 
right  in  favour  of  this  country,  and  prevent  a  coalition  then 
apprehended  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain.  A  resolu- 
tion passed  directing  Jay  to  report  the  state  of  the  negotia- 
tion ;  and  as  soon  as  the  disposition  of  congress  to  consent 
to  a  limited  use  of  the  navigation  was  disclosed,  a  wide 
alarm  was  spread  along  the  western  frontier,  and  mutual 
complaints  of  aggression  by  the  borderers  were  heard. 
These  complaints  were  referred  to  Jay,  who  having  stated 
acts  of  hostility  by  both  parties,  and  his  conviction  of  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  navigate  that  river  from  its 
source  to  the  ocean,  expressed  the  opinion  that  if  inter- 
rupted by  her  "  it  will  be  proper  to  declare  war  against 
Spain." 

In  this  state  of  the  question  Madison  proposed  to  refer 
the  consideration  of  the  American  grievances  to  a  com- 
mittee, but  was  unsuccessful.  In  the  mean  time  the  agents 
of  France  had  manifested  great  solicitude.  It  was  their 
wish*  that  the  negotiation  should  be  committed  to  Jeffer- 
son and  transferred  to  Madrid.  With  this  view  Madison, 


*  March  19,  1787 — Madison  to  Jefferson  : — "  I  discover,  through  several 
channels,  that  it  would  be  very  grateful  to  the  French  politicians  here  to  see 
our  negotiations  with  Spain  shifted  into  your  hands,  and  carried  on  under 
the  mediating  auspices  of  their  court." 

April  15,  1787 — Madison  to  Edmund  Randolph : — "  We  mean  to  propose 
that  Jefferson  be  sent  under  a  special  commission,  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 
Mississippi  at  Madrid." — Madison  Papers,  vol.  2,  p.  625,  637. 


324  THE    LIFE    OP 

on  the  eighteenth  of  April,  proposed  that  a  special  com- 
mission should  be  issued  to  Jefferson  to  proceed  to  Ma- 
drid "  to  enter  into  commercial  stipulations,  and  to  make 
such  representations  and  urge  such  negotiations  as  will 
be  most  likely  to  impress  on  Spain  the  friendly  disposition 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  induce  her  to  make  such  con- 
cessions touching  the  southern  limits  and  their  right  to 
navigate  the  Mississippi*below  them,  as  might  most  effec- 
tually guard  against  a  rupture  of  the  subsisting  harmony, 
and  promote  the  mutual  interests  of  the  two  nations." 
This  proposal  was  referred  to  Jay  ;  he  had  previously 
made  a  report  showing  the  disposition  of  France  to  pro- 
mote the  views  of  Spain,  and  he  now  strongly  dissuaded 
this  measure.  He  stated  that  it  was  more  advantageous 
and  more  honourable  to  negotiate  at  home  ;  that  this  trans- 
fer would  offend  the  Spanish  charge,  who  would  confirm 
the  suspicions  which  this  measure  might  excite  in  his  court 
of  an  intention  to  amuse  her,  a  suspicion  to  which  the  lan- 
guage of  this  resolution,  as  it  only  empowered  him  to  con- 
fer, but  not  to  conclude  a  treaty,*  would  be  too  apt  to 
give  colour.  Twelve  months  after,  the  excitement  in  the 
western  region  having  increased  by  the  extended  rumour 
of  a  disposition  to  surrender  this  right,  the  delegates  from 
North  Carolina  proposed  a  declaration  by  congress  that 
the  United  States  "  have  a  clear,  absolute,  and  unalienable" 
claim  to  it.  Jay,  to  whom  it  was  referred,  reported  that  a 
declaration  ought  to  be  made  that  this  rumour  was  not 

*  In  this  report,  Jay  observed  in  reference  to  the  terms  of  this  resolution  : 
"  Perhaps  this  may  only  be  an  inadvertent  inaccuracy  in  the  motion ;  if  not, 
it  gives  much  colour  to  the  inferences  above  suggested." — 4  S.  J.  342.  At 
the  sitting  of  the  Virginia  convention,  Monroe  reproved  the  conduct  of  this 
negotiation.  Madison  replied : — "  From  the  best  information,  it  never  was  the 
sense  of  the  people  at  large  or  the  prevailing  characters  of  the  eastern  states 
to  approve  of  the  measure." — 2  Elliot's  Debates,  262-3.  But  see  Madison 
Papers,  v.  2,  p.  637,  642. 


HAMILTON.  325 

founded  in  fact ;  but  objected  to  an  assertion  that  the  right 
was  unalienable,  lest  it  might  exclude  the  possibility  of 
such  modifications  as,  without  impairing  it,  might  be  ad- 
vantageous to  the  country  and  satisfactory  to  its  citizens, 
A  new  committee  was  then  raised,  of  which  Hamilton  was 
chairman.  He  introduced  resolutions,  which  were  adopt- 
ed,* that  the  reported  purpose  to  surrender  this  right,  not 
being  founded  in  fact,  the  delegates  be  at  liberty  to  com- 
municate all  such  circumstances  as  may  be  necessary  to 
contradict  it  and  remove  misconceptions :  "  That  the  free 
navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi  is  a  clear  and  essential 
right  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  same  ought  to  be 
considered  and  supported  as  such." 

The  same  disposition  which  had  been  evinced  upon  this 
question  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-two,  continued 
to  be  manifested  by  Vergennes.  In  answer  to  an  inquiry 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  guarantee  in  the  treaty  of  alliance, 
he  intimated  that  "  our  limits  were  not  fixed ;"  and  the 
French  charge  d'affaires  was  selected  by  Spain  to  commu- 
nicate to  congress  the  menace  of  confiscation,  previously 
mentioned,  if  their  vessels  continued  to  commerce  on  the 
Mississippi. 

The  jealousies  to  which  this  negotiation  gave  rise,  were 
fanned  by  the  partisans  of  France,  and  were  among  the 
means  of  exciting  hostility  against  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent friends  of  the  federal  constitution. 

The  relations  with  Great  Britain  still  more  exhibit  the 
disunion  and  impotence  of  this  assemblage  of  states. 

As  soon  as  her  restrictive  proclamations  were  known,  a 
general  shock  was  felt  throughout  the  confederacy.  Com- 
merce was  thrown  out  of  its  usual  channels,  and  the  mer- 
chants, largely  indebted  for  the  extensive  importations  they 
had  made,  looked  round  in  despair  for  an  outlet  to  the  produc- 

*  September  16,  1788. 


326  THE    LIFE   OF 

tions,  with  the  proceeds  of  which,  they  were  to  meet  their 
engagements. 

To  judge  of  the  extent  of  the  evil,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  recur  to  the  fact,  that  of  the  whole  amount  of  their  ex- 
ports when  colonies,  those  to  the  West  Indies  exceeded 
one-fourth.  It  was  the  more  severely  felt,  because  it 
chiefly  fell  upon  the  fisheries  ;  that  prolific  treasure  of  the 
ocean,  which  the  population  of  New-England  regarded  as 
a  source  of  exhaustless  wealth,  whereof  the  product  had 
composed  more  than  one  half  of  the  articles  of  commerce  in 
the  West  India  markets,  and  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
whole  exports  of  the  colonies.*  Cramped  as  they  had 
been  by  the  restrictive  policy  of  the  parent  country,  they 
had  always  found  in  the  valuable  products  of  the  West 
Indies  a  return  for  the  fruits  of  their  enterprise,  which 
afforded  them  continual  relief.  When  deprived  of  this  re- 
source, universal  irritation  followed.  The  merchants  were 
first  aroused  to  opposition.  This  feeling  soon  extended  to 
the  people.  Wholly  unprepared  to  encounter  the  difficul- 
ties incident  to  their  existence  as  an  independent  nation,  and 
overlooking  the  rigid  restrictions  of  France  on  the  commerce 
with  her  dependencies,  they  denounced,  as  an  act  of  hos- 
tility, the  exercise  of  the  unquestionable  right  of  another 
independent  nation  to  pursue  its  own  distinct  interests. 

General  combinations  were  instantly  entered  into  to 
prevent  the  unlading  of  British  vessels.  New-Haven, 
where  the  occlusion  was  much  felt,  was  foremost  in  the 
measures  to  induce  the  prohibition  of  English  ships  arriving 

*  The  markets  of  Canada,  Newfoundland,  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  of  a 
part  of  Europe,  were  cut  off,  and  the  annual  government  bounty  of  .£20,000 
sterling  had  ceased. 

The  product  of  the  fisheries  was  estimated  in  congress  to  be  one-sixth  of 
the  whole  exports  of  the  United  States  ;  elsewhere,  at  one- tenth.  In  1775, 
Massachusetts  employed  in  them,  fourteen  thousand  tons;  in  1787,  four 
thousand. 


HAMILTON.  327 

from  the  West  Indies.  A  meeting  was  held  at  Philadel- 
phia, urging  in  strong  terms  the  same  policy,  which  was  re- 
echoed throughout  the  impoverished  confederacy.  While 
such  was  the  temper  of  this  country,  an  essay  appeared  in 
London,  which  being  considered  as  an  expression  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain,  had  much  in- 
fluence. It  espoused  with  warmth  the  system  of  monopo- 
lies, argued  the  dependence  of  the  confederacy  upon  Brit- 
ish supplies,  and  promised  to  England,  without  further 
concessions,  the  exclusive  trade  of  the  United  States.  It 
also  took  an  extensive  view  of  their  political  condition ; 
disclosed  an  undisguised  contempt  of  the  articles  of  the 
confederation  ;  a  full  consciousness  of  the  inability  of  con- 
gress to  fulfil  any  treaty,  from  the  conflicting  powers  re- 
served to  the  states  ;  and  a  hope  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
anarchy  which  must  arise  from  the  contending  interests  of 
various  legislation,  and  of  the  facilities  which  the  want  of 
a  uniform  policy  must  give  to  the  introduction  of  British 
manufactures. 

Various  replies  to  this  pamphlet  were  made,  showing 
great  diversity  of  opinion,  indicative  rather  of  the  ingenuity 
and  fertility  of  the  popular  mind,  than  of  sound  and  practical 
views  of  the  true  interests  of  the  country.  An  essay  at 
last  appeared,  containing  "  Strictures  on  commerce,"  which, 
taking  an  enlarged  view  of  the  British  system,  showed  the  im- 
policy of  her  monopolies,  and  that  a  general  power  of  com- 
mercial regulation  vested  in  congress  would  alone  protect  the 
commerce  of  this  country,  and  prevent  a  dissolution  of  the 
union.*  'This  opinion  gained  rapidly,  and  being  accelera- 

*  This  pamphlet  was  from  the  pen  of  William  Bingham,  late  agent  of 
congress  at  Martinique,  elected  to  that  body  in  1786,  and  subsequently  a 
senator  of  the  United  States.  His  language  is,  "  The  states,  from  a  sense  of 
common  danger  and  common  interest,  will  more  closely  unite  together,  and 
form  one  general  system  of  exclusive  navigation,  in  regard  to  Great  Britain, 
established  on  clear,  equal,  and  determinate  principles  of  commercial  retalia- 


328  THE    LIFE    OF 

ted  by  the  remonstrances  of  the  West  India  islands,  indu- 
ced, at  last,  a  definitive  action  by  congress.  The  states 
were  invited  to  invest  them  with  this  power  for  a  short 
term;  but  this  salutary  proposition  was  opposed,  and 
it  was  sought  to  substitute  a  recommendation  to  each  le- 
gislature to  make  the  discrimination.*  Though  this  oppo- 
sition proceeded  principally  from  jealousy  of  a  central 
jurisdiction,  other  causes  had  influence.  Of  these,  the 
chief  was  a  great  diversity  of  opinion,  whether  the  United 
States  should  promote  their  own  maritime  importance,  or 
should  abandon  the  ocean  to  foreigners.  The  former 
opinion  was  maintained  by  the  eastern  and  middle  states  ; 
those  of  the  south  having  no  vessels,  were  disinclined  to  a 
system  which  would  temporarily  increase  the  value  of 
freight,  and  might,  as  they  apprehended,  render  them  tri- 
butary to  the  north.  There  was  little  prospect  of  an  early 
concurrence  in  this  measure.  Meanwhile,  the  various 
delicate  questions  which  had  arisen  out  of  the  definitive 
treaty,  and  the  growing  animosities  of  the  nations,  showed 
the  importance  of  closing  the  widening  breach.  This  could 
only  be  effected  by  a  commercial  treaty  ;  but  the  power  of 
making  an  effective  treaty  had  not  been  conferred  on  the 
confederation  ;  and  it  has  been  seen  from  her  reply  to  the 
overtures  of  the  joint  commission,  that  England  was  aware 
of  it.  This  was  a  serious  difficulty  ;  but  had  the  power 
existed,  great  doubts  were  entertained  of  the  disposition 
of  her  councils.  How  long  Jefferson  continued  to  flatter 

tion,  which  will  pervade  the  whole  union.  An  American  looking  forward  to 
the  future  prosperity  and  power  of  his  country,  and  contemplating  the  ten- 
dency of  this  system  towards  strengthening  the  union  of  the  states,  and  making 
it  indissoluble,  will  not  hesitate  to  acquiesce,  without  a  murmur,  to  the  ex- 
istence of  these  restraining  regulations."  Yet  of  him  Madison  states,  "  Mr. 
Bingham  alone  avowed  his  wishes  that  the  Confederacy  might  be  divided  in- 
to several  distinct  confederacies,  its  great  extent  and  various  interests  being 
incompatible  with  a  single  government." — Madison  Papers,  v.  2,  p.  589. 
*  April  30, 1784. 


HAMILTON.  329 

himself,  is  not  known,  but  the  hopeless  prospect  of  the 
joint  commission  flashed  on  the  mind  of  Adams  soon  after 
the  annunciation  of  Great  Britain,  that  she  would  re- 
quire an  embassy  to  London. 

In  a  letter  of  the  thirty-first  January,  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-five,  to  Gerry,  a  delegate  to  congress,  he  puts 
the  inquiry,  "  What  shall  be  done  ?"  and  answers  by  the 
observation,  "  There  are  but  two  things — either  to  send  a 
minister  to  London,  according  to  the  king's  polite  invita- 
tion, and  try  what  can  be  done  there ;  or,  commence  im- 
mediately the  sour  work  of  retaliation.  Will  the  states 
agree  to  exclude  British  ships  from  their  ports,  and  Brit- 
ish manufactures,  or  any  of  them  ?  and  can  such  prohibi- 
tions be  executed,  or  high  duties  be  levied  ?  Suppose  you 
lay  a  heavy  duty  upon  every  British  vessel,  or  upon  Brit- 
ish manufactures,  to  retaliate  for  the  duty  on  oil,  &c.,  can 
we  go  through  with  it  ?  We  have  no  answers  to  any  of 
the  many  things  proposed  to  the  British  ministry  through 
the  Duke  of  Dorset,  and  I  really  think  nothing  will  ever 
be  done  but  by  an  exchange  of  ministers.*" 

In  another  letter  of  the  ninth  of  March  following,  he 
observes,  "  I  think  the  invitation  to  send  a  minister  to 
London  should  be  accepted,  as  it  is  undoubtedly  our  place 
to  send  first,  and  as  the  neglect  of  exchanging  ambassa- 
dors will  forever  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of  coldness  and 


*  Life  of  Gerry,  vol.  1,  464. — A  preceding  paragraph  of  the  same  letter 
shows  the  sacrifices  Adams  supposed  he  had  made  by  his  long  residence  in 
Paris.  "  I  see  the  people  have  not  lost  sight  of  their  old  friends.  I  really 
feel  an  earnest  desire  to  be  one  of  you ;  but  when  will  that  be  possible  ?  It 
is  more  agreeable  to  be  at  home  among  one's  equals,  and  to  enjoy  some  de- 
gree of  respect  and  esteem  among  those  we  feel  a  regard  for,  than  to  be  ad- 
mired by  strangers ;  but  to  be  in  a  foreign  country,  among  strange  faces, 
manners,  languages,  and  looked  at  with  terror — rarely  finding  a  person  who 
dares  to  speak  to  one,  as  has  been  my  case,  Mr.  Dumas',  Mr.  Jay's,  and  oth- 
ers, for  years  together,  is  horrible ;  oh  !  'tis  horrible." 

42 


33ft  THE    LIFE    OF 

jealousy  by  the  people  of  England,  the  people  of  America, 
and  by  all  the  courts  and  nations  of  Europe."  A  letter 
from  him  to  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs  of  the  same 
date  observes,  "  I  am  sure  we  could  not  do  less,  sepa- 
rately, than  we  are  likely  to  do  together I  make 

no  scruple,  no  hesitation  to  advise  that  a  minister  may  be 
sent  ;  nor  will  I  be  intimidated  from  giving  this  advice 
by  any  apprehension  that  I  shall  be  suspected  of  a  design 
or  desire  of  going  to  England  myself.  Whoever  goes  will 
neither  find  it  a  lucrative  nor  a  pleasant  employment,  nor 
will  he  be  envied  by  me."* 

The  reply  of  Jay  enclosed  his  credentials  to  the  court 
of  St.  James. 

Having  remained  some  weeks  in  Paris,  as  he  states,  to 
perform  the  ceremonial  of  taking  leave  of  the  court  of 
France,  he  arrived  in  London  in  May,  prepared  for  his 
presentation  at  that  of  Great  Britain.-f  These  matters  of 
etiquette  being  disposed  of,  Adams  soon  after  entered  up- 
on the  business  of  his  mission. 

It  has  been  seen  in  his  letter  of  January,  written  previ- 
ous to  his  appointment,  that  an  "  embassy  or  retaliation" 
are  presented  as  the  alternatives.  Those  subsequent  to  it 
approve  of  the  discriminating  resolutions  of  certain  states, 
and  urge  "  that  we  have  no  means  to  make  an  impres- 
sion, but  by  commercial  regulations,  which  the  vulgar  may 
see  strike  essentially  at  their  interests  without  injuring  our 
own."  The  extent  of  the  constitutional  treaty  power  is 
also  discussed  ;  the  supposed  absurdity  of  thirteen  minis- 
ters at  every  court,  is  indicated  ;  the  necessity  of  enlarg- 
ing it,  is  zealously  inculcated.  This  question  had  not  oc- 
curred to  the  American  commissioners  on  the  annuncia- 
tion to  England  of  their  joint  authority. 

«  2  Dip.  Cor.  167. 

t  His  amusing  record  of  his  presentation  to  the  king  and  queen,  will  be 
found  in  Dip.  Cor.  vol.  4,  p.  211. 


HAMILTON.  331 

The  instructions  to  Adams  directed  him  to  insist  upon 
the  surrender  of  the  posts  and  territories  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States  ;  to  remonstrate  against  the  infrac- 
tion of  the  definitive  treaty  by  the  deportation  of  slaves 
and  other  property  ;  and  to  represent  the  necessary  ten- 
dency of  the  British  restrictions  to  incapacitate  our  mer- 
chants from  remitting  to  theirs,  and  the  losses  which  would 
be  sustained  by  an  immediate  pressure  for  the  payment  of 
debts  contracted  before  the  war.  These  claims  werfe  stated 
to  the  British  minister  at  length.  In  prosecution  of  his 
object,  the  draft  of  a  commercial  treaty,  the  terms  of  which 
were  subsequently  approved  by  congress,  was  soon  after 
submitted  to  the  English  cabinet. 

England  had  expressed  her  readiness  to  receive  propo- 
sals, but  no  disposition  was  evinced  by  her  to  enter  upon 
a  negotiation,  nor  to  accredit  an  ambassador  to  the  Uni- 
ted States.  The  only  reply  given  to  the  plan  of  treaty, 
was  the  inquiry,  "  Can  the  United  States  secure  any  priv- 
ilege to  Great  Britain  in  which  France  will  not  partici- 
pate ?"*  and  the  embassy  to  London  was  acknowedged  by 
the  appointment  of  a  consul. 

These  were  things  not  to  be  endured,  and  yet  not  to  be 
resented  by  the  American  envoy.  Feeling  that  from  the 
magic  circle  of  court  formalities  there  was  no  escape,  Ad- 
ams, relying  upon  the  vast  results  he  attributed  to  a  simi- 
lar procedure  at  the  Hague,  resolved  to  bring  the  British 
ministry  to  a  stand  by  presenting  a  memorial  demanding 
the  evacuation  of  the  frontier  posts.  But  again  delay  was 
followed  by  delay — all  was  ceremony — month  after  month 
elapsed,  when  a  reply  was  at  last  given.  This  reply 
avowed  the  determination  of  Great  Britain  to  act  in  per- 
fect conformity  with  the  strictest  principles  of  justice  and 
good  faith,  and  her  readiness  to  carry  every  article  of  the 

»  4  Dip.  Cor.  333. 


332  THE    LIFE    OF 

definitive  treaty  into  full  effect  whenever  America  should 
manifest  a  real  determination  to  fulfil  her  part  of  it.  It 
recapitulated  the  legislative  acts  of  eight  states,  contra- 
vening its  fourth  article,  and  insisted  on  the  injustice  of 
being  obliged  to  a  strict  observance  of  the  public  faith, 
while  America  held  herself  free  to  deviate  From  her  en- 
gagements. 

This  answer  was  referred  to  Jay,  who,  after  a  full  ex- 
amination of  it,  in  which  it  appeared  that  many  of  the 
charges  were  unsustained,  admitted  that  the  first  of  the 
imputed  violations  of  the  treaty  had  been  committed  by 
the  states,  some  of  which  were  still  existing  and  ope- 
rating ;  and  that,  under  the  circumstances,  it  was  not  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  the  posts  were  detained,  and  that 
Britain  would  not  be  to  blame  in  continuing  to  hold  them, 
until  America  should  cease  to  impede  her  enjoying  every 
essential  right  secured  to  her  and  to  her  people  and  adhe- 
rents by  the  treaty.  The  report  closed  with  a  recom- 
mendation, that  congress  should  resolve  that  the  states  had 
no  right  to  construe,  retard,  or  counteract  the  execution  of 
the  treaty  ;  and  that  all  their  acts  inconsistent  therewith 
should  be  repealed  by  their  legislatures,  in  general  terms, 
He  also  recommended  that  the  American  minister  should 
admit  to  Great  Britain  the  violation  of  the  fourth  and  sixth 
articles  of  the  treaty  ;  should  state  that  measures  were  in 
progress  to  correct  this ;  should  conclude  a  convention  for 
the  estimation  of  property  removed  in  violation  of  the 
seventh  article,  and  for  the  remission  of  interest  on  private 
contracts  during  the  war,  and  should  express  the  deter- 
mination of  the  United  States  to  execute  the  treaty  with 
good  faith. 

This  unwelcome  duty  was  imposed  on  Adams.  The 
British  ministry  approved  the  spirit  of  the  resolutions,  but 
still  adhered  to  the  system  it  had  adopted  ;  in  pursuance 
of  which  an  act  was  passed  for  the  regulation  of  their 


HAMILTON.  333 

trade  with  the  United  States,  extending  still  further  the 
prohibition  from  her  islands  of  American  products.  Mean- 
while, the  tone  of  the  public  feeling,  the  omission  to  appoint 
a  minister  in  return,  frequent  disappointments,  and  studied 
procrastinations,  wore  upon  the  temper  of  Adams,  who  at 
last,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  United  States,  cast  off 
all  restraint.  At  times  he  deemed  an  abandonment  by  Ame- 
rica of  her  commerce,  the  wisest  course.*  Again,  he 
urged  a  vindictive  retaliation,  as  the  only  means  of  redress, 
and  poured  out  philippics,  denouncing,  with  indiscriminate 
wrath,  England — her  institutions — her  king — her  states- 
men— her  policy — her  people.f 

This  was  a  wide  departure  from  the  opinions  he  had 
expressed  at  an  earlier  period.  "  Let  us  banish  forever 
from  our  minds,  my  countrymen,  all  such  unworthy  ideas 
of  the  king,  his  ministry,  and  the  parliament.  Let  us  not 
suppose  that  all  are  become  luxurious,  effeminate,  and  un- 

*4D.  C.  500. 

t "  There  is  no  resource  for  me  in  this  nation.  The  people  are  discouraged 
and  dispirited,  from  the  general  profligacy  and  want  of  principle,  from  the 
want  of  confidence  in  any  of  the  leaders,  from  the  frequent  disappointments 
and  impositions  they  have  experienced  in  turn  from  all  parties.  Patriotism  is 
no  more  ;  nor  is  any  hypocrite  successful  enough  to  make  himself  believed  to 
be  one Fox,  and  his  friends  and  patrons,  are  ruined  by  the  endless  ex- 
penses of  the  last  election,  and  have  no  longer  any  spirit,  or  any  enterprise. 
North  and  his  friends  are  afraid  of  impeachment  and  vengeance,  and  there- 
fore will  avoid  all  hazardous  experiments,  by  which  the  popular  cry  might  be 
excited.  Pitt  is  but  a  tool  and  an  ostensible  pageant,  a  nose  of  tender  virgin 
wax ;  he  could  not  carry  in  Parliament,  nor  in  the  cabinet,  any  honest  system 
with  America,  if  he  meant  to  do  it ;  but  he  is  himself  very  far  from  being  steady 
in  his  American  politics,  any  more  than  Camden  or  Richmond  ;  and  Sydney 
and  Carmarthen  are  cyphers." — 4  D.  C.  444-5,  468,471.  "This  nation 
would  now  crouch  to  France,  for  the  sake  of  being  insolent  to  us." — 480. 
"  The  most  remarkable  thing  in  the  king's  speech  and  the  debates  is,  that  the 
king,  and  every  member  of  each  house,  has  entirely  forgotten  that  there  is 
any  such  place  upon  the  earth  as  the  United  States  of  America.  We  appear 
to  be  considered  as  of  no  consequence  at  all  in  the  scale  of  the  world."— 
4  D.  C.  481. 


334  THE    LIFE    OF 

reasonable  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  as  many  design- 
ing persons  would  insinuate.  Let  us  presume,  what  in 
fact  is  true,  that  the  spirit  of  liberty  is  as  ardejit  as  ever 
among  the  body  of  her  nation,  though  a  few  individuals 
may  be  corrupted,"  &c.* 

Alarmed  by  his  extravagance,  and  apprehensive  of  be- 
ing precipitated  by  his  rashness  into  a  contest  for  which 
the  country  was  not  prepared,  a  formal  motion  was  made 
in  congress  and  adopted,  forbidding  him  to  demand  a  cat- 
egorical answer  to  his  memorial,  lest  they  should  be  involv- 
ed in  a  war  or  in  disgrace.-}-  These  orders  were  transmit- 
ted by  Jay,J  who,  at  the  same  time,  recommended  as  the 
true  policy  of  the  nation,  that "  what  wrong  may  have  been 
done  should  be  undone,  and  that  the  United  States  should, 
if  it  were  only  to  preserve  peace,  be  prepared  for  war." 

Adams  now  began  to  meditate  his  return  to  the  United 
States.  The  prospect  of  a  new  government  opened  more 
grateful  scenes,  and  congress  yielded  to  his  desire  to  leave 
a  position  which  he  had  prophetically  anticipated  would  be 
a  "thicket  of  briers."  Dissatisfied  with  every  thing,  he 
bade  adieu  to  England,  where  his  worst  fears  had  been 
realized  of  "  the  insignificance"  to  which  he  would  sink, 
and  of  the  alike  "dry  decency  and  cold  civility"  with 
which  he  would  be  treated  by  the  administration  and  the 
opposition.  On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  found 
new  sources  of  discontent  in  the  circumstances  of  his  re- 
call. On  the  twenty-fourth  of  September,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven,  a  report  was  made  by  Jay,  em- 
bracing two  points — an  approval  of  his  conduct,  and  a 
vote  of  thanks.  It  was  rejected  after  a  division  on  each 
point ;  but  on  the  fifth  of  October  the  congress  were  in- 


*  "  Essay  on  Crown  and   Feudal   Laws,    by  J.   Adams,   Ambassador 
Plen."  &c. 

t  5  D.  C.  358.  t  May  8,  1786. 


HAMILTON.  335 

duced  to  relent.  For  this  decision,  he  is  believed  to  have 
been  chiefly  indebted  to  the  exertions  of  a  leading  dele- 
gate* from  Massachusetts. f 

Much  as  there  was  in  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain  to 
disappoint  expectation  and  wound  national  pride,  yet  on 
a  dispassionate  view,  it  is  to  be  deemed  the  natural  result 
of  the  relative  situations  of  the  two  countries.  Many  of 
her  statesmen  saw,  or  imagined  that  they  saw,  in  a  close 
adherence  to  the  colonial  system  the  chief  sources  of  her 
wealth.  Her  jealousy  had  long  been  awakened  to  the 
competition  which  the  character  and  condition  of  the 
American  people  would  produce,  and  every  effort  to  relieve 
themselves  from  the  pressure  of  her  monopolies  confirmed 
her  adherence  to  them,  and  was  followed  by  more  minute 
and  rigorous  exactions.  It  could  therefore  with  little  pro- 
bability be  expected,  that  while  she  maintained  her  navi- 
gation act  towards  other  nations,  she  would  relax  her  sys- 
tem towards  that  power  whose  interference  with  her  trade 
she  most  feared,  especially  as  the  United  States  were,  by 
the  treaties  they  had  formed,  precluded  offering  to  her 
any  equivalent  for  such  an  exemption, 

England  also  confided  in  the  magnitude  of  her  capital, 
in  the  credits  she  could  give,  and  in  the  cheapness  of  her 
productions,  as  ensuring  the  introduction  of  them  to  the 
American  market,  where  the  habits  of  the  people  had  al- 
ways secured  to  her  a  preference.  The  efforts  of  France 
to  compete  with  her  had  failed,  and  while  the  British  mer- 
chants were  engrossing  the  trade,  France  was  occupied  in 
speculating  on  the  grounds  of  such  a  preference. 

These  circumstances,  combined  with  too  great  a  defer- 
ence to  the  feelings  of  the  monarch,  had  weight,  but  the 
consideration  which  chiefly  influenced  the  court  of  St. 
James,  was  the  political  condition  of  the  confederacy. 

*  Rufus  King.  t  5  D.  C.  312. 


330  THE    LIFE    OF 

Whatever  might  be  the  future  resources  of  this  nation, 
whatever  were  the  capacities  of  the  people,  America  now 
presented  an  unrelieved  picture  of  anarchy  and  disunion. 
Her  public  engagements  had  nearly  all  been  violated,  her 
private  resources  appeared  either  to  be  exhausted,  or 
could  not  be  called  into  action  ;  and  while  the  individual 
states  were  pursuing  measures  of  mutual  hostility  and  de- 
triment, the  confederation  was  powerless  over  their  laws, 
powerless  over  public  opinion.  Hence,  to  every  argu- 
ment or  inducement  in  favour  of  a  commercial  treaty, 
there  was  an  irrefutable  reply — America  will  not,  or  if 
she  would,  she  cannot  fulfil  it.  "  Our  ambassadors,"  Ham- 
ilton observed,  "  were  the  mere  pageants  of  mimic  sove- 
reignty." 

In  this  brief  retrospect  of  the  negotiations  with  the  two 
leading  powers  of  Europe,  nothing  is  more  obvious  than 
the  want  of  that  practical  common  sense,  which  had  car- 
ried this  country  through  the  revolution  both  in  the  ob- 
jects, and  in  the  conduct  of  them.  This  country  was,  in 
fact,  without  a  government.  Could  it  be  hoped,  that 
either  France  or  England  would  treat  on  advantageous 
terms  with  a  people  who  had  not  the  power  to  fulfil  their 
engagements  ?  Could  it  be  supposed,  for  a  moment,  that 
those  old  governments  would  abandon  their  artificial  sys- 
tems and  fixed  maxims,  affecting  so  many  public  and  pri- 
vate interests,  for  an  untried  theory  ? 

Jefferson*  at  an  early  period  advised  that  "the  Ameri- 
can workshops  should  remain  in  Europe  ;"  that  "  perhaps 
it  might  be  better  for  us  to  abandon  the  ocean  altogether, 
that  being  the  element  whereon  we  shall  be  principally 
exposed  to  jostle  with  other  nations ;  to  leave  to  others  to 
bring  what  we  shall  want,  and  to  carry  what  we  can  spare." 
Now  he  is  the  projector  of  a  system  of  entangling  connec- 

*  Notes  on  Virginia,  p.  175,  f!6. 


HAMILTON.  337 

tions  with  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  He  voted  against  a 
proposition  to  adopt  the  commerce  of  "  natives"  as  the  basis 
of  treaties,  and  he  proposed  to  treat  with  England  on  that 
basis.  "  I  know,"  he  wrote  to  Adams,  "  it  goes  beyond  our 
powers,  and  beyond  the  powers  of  congress  too ;  but  it  is 
evidently  for  the  good  of  all  the  states  that  I  should  not 
be  afraid  to  risk  myself  on  it,  if  you  are  of  the  same 
opinion."* 

Abandoning  the  principle  of  his  own  instructions,!  ne 
suggested  to  VergennesJ  "  that  both  nations  would  cement 
their  friendship  by  approaching  the  conditions  of  their  citi- 
zens reciprocally  to  that  of  'natives,'  as  a  better  ground  of 
intercourse  than  that  of  'the  most  favoured  nation.' "  The 
reply  of  France  was  an  arret,  approving  in  its  preamble 
a  general  freedom  of  commerce  ;  but  vindicating  the  "  ex- 
clusion of  foreign  goods,  as  required  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances by  the  interest  of  the  kingdom." 

Yet  he  at  the  same  period  avows,  "  were  I  to  indulge  my 
own  theory,  I  should  wish  them  (the  United  States)  to  prac- 
tise neither  commerce  nor  navigation,  but  to  stand,  with 
respect  to  Europe,  precisely  on  the  footing  of  China."§ 

The  opinions  of  Adams  as  to  the  foreign  policy  of  this 
country,  were  not  less  various. 

At  one  time  he  avowed,  "that  it  is  in  the  power  of 
America  to  tax  all  Europe  whenever  she  pleases,  by  laying 
duties  upon  her  exports,  enough  to  pay  the  interest  of 
money  enough  to  answer  all  their  purposes."||  He  then 
enters  into  this  project  of  commercial  freedom  ;  then  de- 
nounces it,  declaring,  "  that  we  had  hitherto  been  the  bub- 
bles of  our  own  philosophical  and  equitable  liberality ;" 
and  indicates  as  the  only  means  of  redress,  "  commercial 
regulations."!! 

*  2  D.C.  338.— July  28, 1785.      t  Niles,  v.  12,  p.  82.      t  November,  1785. 
$  October  13,  1785.— Jeff.  Works,  vol.  1,  344.  II  5  D.  C.  502. 

f  2  D.  C.  338. 

43 


338  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  course  of  events  had  proved  the  correctness  of 
Hamilton's  views,  as  he  calmly  consulted  the  great  perma- 
nent interests  of  the  country.  Though  in  his  liberal  spirit 
the  advocate  of  a  policy  which  he  observed  would  estab- 
lish "  our  system  with  regard  to  foreign  nations  upon  those 
grounds  of  moderation  and  equity  by  which  reason,  reli- 
gion, and  philosophy  had  tempered  the  harsh  maxims  of 
more  early  times,  and  that  rejects  those  principles  of  re- 
striction and  exclusion  which  are  the  foundations  of  the 
mercantile  and  navigating  system  of  Europe  ;"  yet,  judg- 
ing wisely  of  human  nature,  of  the  force  of  habit,  preju- 
dice, and  passion,  he  had  from  the  earliest  period  indicated 
the  necessity  of  conferring  upon  congress  the  power  "  of 
regulating  trade,  laying  prohibitions,  granting  bounties 
and  premiums."*  And  when  he  saw  the  confederacy 
nerveless — the  states  in  collision — the  people  desponding 
— their  energies  withering  under  the  restrictive  regula- 
tions of  Europe — he  then  again  avowed  the  necessity  of 
counteracting  "  a  policy  so  unfriendly  to  their  prosperity, 
by  prohibitory  regulations  extending  at  the  same  time 
throughout  the  states,"  as  a  means  of  compelling  an  equal 
traffic  ;  of  raising  the  American  navigation  so  as  to  estab- 
lish "  an  active"  instead  of  "  a  passive  commerce  ;"  of  "  a 
federal  navy,  to  defend  the  rights  of  neutrality." 

These  views,  as  the  perspective  of  this  vast  republic 
rose  before  him,  were  embraced  in  the  exhortation — "  Let 
Americans  disdain  to  be  the  instruments  of  European 
greatness  !  Let  the  thirteen  states,  bound  together  in  a 
strict  and  indissoluble  union,  concur  in  erecting  one  great 
American  system,  superior  to  the  control  of  transatlantic 
force  or  influence,  and  able  to  dictate  the  connection  be- 
tween the  old  and  the  new  world  !"f 

*  The  Constitutionalist,  No.  4,  August,  1781— No.  6,  July  4,  1782. 
t  The  Federalist,  No.  11. 


HAMILTON.  339 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

[1786.] 

IN  the  domestic  situation  of  this  country  there  was 
much  to  justify  distrust.  The  definitive  treaty  had  indeed 
assured  almost  Roman  limits  to  the  new  republic  ;  but  the 
eastern  boundary  was  disputed— the  western  denied — 
while  from  the  frowning  fortresses  which  dotted  its  out- 
line, each  morning's  drum-roll  struck  alarm  into  the  breast 
of  the  borderer,  as  it  awakened  in  the  crouching  savage 
his  slumbering  appetite  for  carnage.  The  interior  subdi- 
visions were  also  unsettled.  The  coterminous  states  of 
Massachusetts  and  New- York  had  not  yet  wearied  of  their 
disputes.  Pennsylvania,  though  her  rights  had  been  es- 
tablished under  a  constitutional  tribunal,  wras  threatened 
with  a  contest  with  the  New-England  settlers  at  Wyo- 
ming, who  were  preparing  to  refer  their  claims  to  the 
most  summary  arbitrament.  Virginia  was  compelled  to 
release  Kentucky  from  her  reluctant  embraces.  North 
Carolina  was  dissevered,  and  a  fragment  of  her  domains 
was  forming  into  an  independent  state  under  the  name  of 
Frankland,  of  which  an  assembly  preparatory  to  a  con- 
vention had  met.*  While  so  many  inducements  existed  to 
adopt  a  comprehensive  national  policy,  such  was  the  prev- 
alence of  state  jealousy,  that  instead  of  labouring  to  invig- 
orate the  arm  of  the  general  legislature,  an  aversion  to  the 
restraints  of  law,  and  an  increasing  disposition  to  withhold 
confidence  from  the  constituted  authorities,  were  daily  de- 
veloped. Instead  of  looking  for  remedies  to  relieve  the 

*  August  1,  1785. 


340  THE    LIFE    OF 

public  distresses,  in  every  part  of  the  continent  the  prevail- 
ing anxiety  appeared  to  be  to  discover  new  objects  upon 
which  to  vent  dissatisfaction.  A  bill  to  repeal  the  charter 
of  the  Bank  of  North  America  passed  the  assembly  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  New- York,  a  memorial  to  incorporate 
the  bank,  of  which  the  constitution  had  been  framed  by 
Hamilton,  was  presented  to  the  legislature  early  in  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty-four ;  but  so  prevalent  was  the 
jealousy  of  a  moneyed  influence,  that  it  was  compelled  to 
conduct  its  affairs  during  six  years  without  corporate  im- 
munities. The  cry  arose  that  banks  were  combinations 
of  the  rich  against  the  poor,  although,  when  not  abused, 
their  tendency  is  to  raise  industrious  poverty  above  the 
influence  of  wealth. 

These  were  minor  indications.  The  craving  appetite  of 
discontent  called  for  food,  and  the  recent  combinations  of 
military  men,  and  the  dangers  of  a  standing  army  in  time 
of  peace,  became  fruitful  themes  of  clamour.  An  associa- 
tion of  the  officers  of  the  late  army,  formed  at  the  en- 
campment on  the  Hudson,  "  to  preserve  inviolate  the  lib- 
erties for  which  they  had  bled,  to  promote  and  cherish 
national  union  and  honour,  and  to  render  permanent  the 
cordial  affection  of  the  officers  by  acts  of  mutual  benefi- 
cence," under  the  now  venerated  title  of  "  the  Society  of 
the  Cincinnati,"  to  continue  during  the  lives  of  the  mem- 
bers, with  succession  to  their  eldest  male  posterity,  became 
an  object  of  the  most  violent  and  wide-spread  hostility. 

The  alarm  was  first  sounded  in  an  address  under  the 
signature  of  Cassius,  written  by  ^Edanus  Burke,  a  judge  of 
the  supreme  court  of  South  Carolina,  professing  to  prove 
that  this  association  created  a  race  of  hereditary  patricians, 
and  full  of  trite  allusions  to  the  orders  which  had  sprung 
up  during  the  ages  of  European  barbarism. 

This  popular  topic  was  echoed  throughout  the  states, 
and  having  performed  its  office  in  America,  was  seized 


HAMILTON.  341 

upon  by  Mirabeau,  and  depicted  with  all  the  power,  art, 
and  eloquence  of  his  extraordinary  genius. 

The  distrust  thus  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  people  was 
cherished  by  persons,  who,  having  served  wholly  in  a  civil 
capacity,  had  long  been  jealous  of  the  superior  populari- 
ty of  Washington  and  of  his  companions  in  arms.  One, 
with  cold  philosophy,  advised  them  to  "  melt  down  their 
eagles"* — while  another,  with  all  the  vehemence  of  "  a 
disordered  imagination,"  denounced  the  association  as  an 
inroad  upon  the  first  principles  of  equality — the  deepest 
piece  of  cunning  yet  attempted — an  institution  "  sowing 
the  seeds  of  all  that  European  courts  wish  to  grow  up 
among  us  of  vanity,  ambition,  corruption,  discord,  and  se- 
dition."! The  outcry  which  had  been  so  successfully 
raised  was  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  require  the 
attention  of  the  society. 

A  general  meeting  was  convened,  at  which  Washington, 
the  president-general,  presided,  and  an  abolition  of  the  he- 
reditary provision  was  recommended.  The  following 
documents  relating  to  this  subject,  show  how  entirely  the 
real  objects  of  this  association  corresponded  with  its  pro- 
fessed purpose,  and  with  what  sentiments  Washington 
viewed  this  impeachment  of  his  pure  and  elevated  patri- 
otism. Hamilton  thus  represented  to  him  the  proceedings 
of  the  state  society  of  New- York. 

"  SIR, 

"  Major  Fairlie  is  just  setting  out  on  a  visit  to  you,  I 
believe  on  some  business  relating  to  the  Cincinnati.  The 
society  of  this  state  met  some  short  time  since,  and  took 
into  consideration  the  proposed  alterations  in  the  original 
frame  of  the  institution.  Some  were  strenuous  for  adher- 
ing to  the  old  constitution,  a  few  for  adopting  the  new, 
and  many  for  a  middle  line.  This  disagreement  of  opin- 

*  Jefferson.  t  Adams. 


342  THE    LIFE   OP 

ion,  and  the  consideration  that  the  different  state  societies 
pursuing  different  courses — some  adopting  the  alterations 
entire,  others  rejecting  them  in  the  same  way — others 
adopting  in  part  and  rejecting  in  part — might  beget  confu- 
sion and  defeat  good  purposes,  induced  a  proposal,  which 
was  unanimously  agreed  to,  that  a  committee  should  be 
appointed  to  prepare  and  lay  before  the  society  a  circular 
letter  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  society  on  the  different 
alterations  proposed,  and  recommending  the  giving  pow- 
ers to  a  general  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati,  to  make  such 
alterations  as  might  be  thought  advisable  to  obviate  objec- 
tions and  promote  the  interests  of  the  society.  I  believe 
there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  agreeing  to  change  the  pre- 
sent mode  of  continuing  the  society ;  but  it  appears  to  be 
the  wish  of  our  members  that  some  other  mode  may  be  de- 
fined and  substituted,  and  that  it  might  not  be  left  to  the 
uncertainty  of  legislative  provision.  We  object  to  putting 
the  funds  under  legislative  direction.  Indeed,  it  appears  to 
us  the  legislature  will  not,  at  present,  be  inclined  to  give 
us  any  sanction. 

"  I  am  of  the  committee,  and  I  cannot  but  flatter  myself 
that  when  the  object  is  better  digested  and  more  fully  ex- 
plained, it  will  meet  your  approbation. 

"  The  poor  Baron  is  still  soliciting  congress,  and  has  every 
prospect  of  indigence  before  him.  He  has  his  impru- 
dences, but  upon  the  whole,  he  has  rendered  valuable  ser- 
vices, and  his  merits  and  the  reputation  of  the  country 
alike  demand  that  he  should  not  be  left  to  suffer  want. 
If  there  should  be  any  mode  by  which  your  influence 
could  be  employed  in  his  favour,  by  writing  to  your 
friends  in  congress  or  otherwise,  the  baron  and  his  friends 
would  be  under  great  obligations  to  you." 

Washington  replied : — "  I  have  been  favoured  with  your 
letter  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  November,  by  Major  Fairlie. 


HAMILTON.  343 

Sincerely  do  I  wish  that  the  several  state  societies  had,  or 
would  adopt  the  alterations  that  were  recommended  by  the 
general  meeting  in  May,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- four. 
I  then  thought,  and  have  had  no  cause  since  to  change  my 
opinion,  that  if  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati  mean  to  live  in 
peace  with  the  rest  of  their  fellow-citizens,  they  must  sub- 
scribe to  the  alterations  which  were  at  that  time  adopted. 

"  That  the  jealousies  of,  and  prejudices  against,  this  so- 
ciety were  carried  to  an  unwarrantable  length,  I  will 
readily  grant ;  and  that  less  than  was  done  ought  to  have 
removed  the  fears  which  had  been  imbibed,  I  am  as  clear 
in,  as  I  am  that  it  would  not  have  done  it ;  but  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  little  moment,  whether  the  alarm  which  seized  the 
public  mind  was  the  result  of  foresight,  envy,  and  jealousy, 
or  a  disordered  imagination ;  the  effect  of  perseverance 
would  have  been  the  same :  wherein  then  would  have 
been  found  an  equivalent  for  the  separation  of  interests, 
which,  from  my  best  information,  not  from  one  state  only, 
but  many,  would  inevitably  have  taken  place  ? 

"  The  fears  of  the  people  are  not  yet  removed,  they  only 
sleep,  and  a  very  little  matter  will  set  them  afloat  again. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  predicament  we  stood  in  with  re- 
spect to  the  foreign  officers  and  the  charitable  part  of  the 
institution,  I  should,  on  that  occasion,  as  far  as  my  voice 
would  have  gone,  have  endeavoured  to  convince  the  nar- 
row-minded part  of  our  countrymen  that  the  amor  patriae 
was  much  stronger  in  our  breasts  than  theirs,  and  that  our 
conduct,  through  the  whole  of  the  business,  was  actuated 
by  nobler  and  more  generous  sentiments  than  were  appre- 
hended, by  abolishing  the  society  at  once,  with  a  declara- 
tion of  the  causes,  and  the  purity  of  its  intentions.  But 
the  latter  may  be  interesting  to  many,  and  the  former  is 
an  insuperable  obstacle  to  such  a  step. 

"  I  am  sincerely  concerned  to  find  by  your  letter  that 
the  baron  is  again  in  straitened  circumstances.  I  am 


344  THE    LIFE    OF 

much  disinclined  to  ask  favours  of  congress,  but  if  I  knew 
what  the  objects  of  his  wishes  are,  I  should  have  much 
pleasure  in  rendering  him  any  services  in  my  power  with 
such  members  of  that  body  as  I  now  and  then  correspond 
with.  I  had  flattered  myself,  from  what  was  told  me 
some  time  ago,  that  congress  had  made  a  final  settlement 
with  the  baron,  much  to  his  satisfaction." 

The  state  society  of  New- York,  of  which  Baron  Steu- 
ben  and  General  Schuyler  were,  at  that  time,  the  presid- 
ing officers,  met  on  the  fourth  of  July,  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-six ;  on  which  occasion  Colonel  Hamilton  de- 
livered an  oration,  and  at  an  adjourned  meeting  two  days 
after,  he  presented  a  report,  which  was  agreed  to,  in 
which  his  views  as  to  the  hereditary  succession  by  right 
of  primogeniture,  and  the  distinction  between  military  and 
civil  members,  are  seen. 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  proceedings 
of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati,  at  their  last  general  meet- 
ing, beg  leave  to  report,  that  they  have  attentively  consid- 
ered the  alterations  proposed  at  that  meeting  to  be  made 
in  the  original  constitution  of  the  society  ;  and  though  they 
highly  approve  the  motives  which  dictated  those  alter- 
ations, they  are  of  opinion  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  adopt 
them,  and  this  chiefly  on  the  two  following  accounts, 

"First — Because  the  institution,  as  proposed  to  be  altered, 
would  contain  in  itself  no  certain  provision  for  the  contin- 
uance of  the  society  beyond  the  lives  of  the  present  mem- 
bers ;  this  point  being  left  to  the  regulation  of  charters, 
which  may  never  be  obtained,  and  which,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  committee,  so  far  as  affects  this  object,  ought  never 
to  be  granted,  since  the  dangers  apprehended  from  the  in- 
stitution could  then  only  cease  to  be  imaginary,  when  it 
should  receive  the  sanction  of  a  legal  establishment.  The 
utmost  the  society  ought  to  wish  or  ask  from  the  several 


HAMILTON.  345 

legislatures  is,  to  enable  it  to  appoint  trustees  to  hold  its 
property,  for  the  charitable  purposes  to  which  it  is  destined. 
Second — Because,  by  a  fundamental  article,  it  obliges  the 
society  of  each  state  to  lend  its  funds  to  the  state ;  a  pro- 
vision which  would  be  improper,  for  two  reasons ;  one, 
that  in  many  cases  the  society  might  be  able  to  dispose  of 
its  funds  to  much  greater  advantage ;  the  other,  that  the  state 
might  not  always  choose  to  borrow  from  the  society. 

"  That  while  the  committee  entertain  this  opinion  with 
respect  to  the  proposed  alterations,  they  are  at  the  same 
time  equally  of  opinion,  that  some  alterations  in  the  origi- 
nal constitution  will  be  proper,  as  well  in  deference  to  the 
sense  of  many  of  our  fellow-citizens,  as  in  conformity  to 
the  true  spirit  of  the  institution  itself.  The  alterations 
they  have  in  view  respect  principally  the  duration  or  suc- 
cession of  the  society,  and  the  distinction  between  honora- 
ry and  regular  members.  As  to  the  first,  the  provision 
intended  to  be  made  appears  to  them  to  be  expressed  in 
terms  not  sufficiently  explicit ;  and  as  far  as  it  may  intend 
an  hereditary  succession  by  right  of  primogeniture,  is  liable 
to  this  objection — that  it  refers  to  birth  what  ought  to  belong 
to  merit  only ;  a  principle  inconsistent  with  the  genius  of  a 
society  founded  on  friendship  and  patriotism.  As  to  the 
second,  the  distinction  holds  up  an  odious  difference  be- 
tween men  who  have  served  their  country  in  one  way, 
and  those  who  have  served  it  in  another,  and  improper  in 
a  society  where  the  character  of  patriot  ought  to  be  an 
equal  title  to  all  its  members." 

Time  has  furnished  the  best  comment  on  the  character 
and  motives  of  this  association.  Notwithstanding  all  the 
alarms  which  were  felt,  or  feigned,  and  the  jealousies  which 
were  inflamed,  these  societies  have  retained  the  soli- 
tary solace  of  a  riband  and  a  medal  to  commemorate 
their  sufferings  ;  have  persevered  in  performing  their  ori- 
ginal office  of  silent  benevolence,  and  are  only  known  to 

44 


346  THE    LIFE    OF 

exist  when  they  assemble  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of  in- 
dependence ;  to  confer  a  more  sacred  distinction  upon 
some  modern  achievement  of  patriotism  ;  or  to  remind  pos- 
terity, in  an  unobtrusive  recital  of  his  merits,  that  "  another 
patriot  of  the  revolution  is  no  more."* 

The  unrepealed  proclamations  of  our  great  maritime 
rival,  or,  as  England  was  termed,  in  language  becoming  an 
age  of  barbarism,  our  "  natural  enemy,"  were  more  wor- 
thy objects  of  opposition,  and  the  first  efforts  to  teach  this 
"  assuming  brother"  moderation,  are  among  the  most  in- 
teresting and  instructive  portions  of  American  history. 

The  first  proclamation  was  issued  in  July,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-three.  In  December  of  that  year, 
Virginia  passed  a  resolution  recommending  congress  to 
prohibit  all  intercourse,  until  the  restrictions  upon  the  com- 
merce of  the  United  States  were  removed.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  she  enacted  several  laws  of  a  commercial  na- 
ture. One  was  to  restrict  foreign  vessels  to  certain  ports. 
Having  instructed  her  delegates  in  congress  to  remonstrate 
against  the  infractions  of  the  treaty,  and  to  render  the  col- 
lection of  British  debts  contingent  upon  its  fulfilment,  she 
passed  an  act  empowering  congress  to  regulate  trade  and 
to  collect  a  revenue.  In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  she  gave  this  subject  a  more  deliberate  consideration, 
and  resolutions  were  proposed  and  discussed  in  her  legis- 
lature of  much  moment. 

*  The  medal  was  of  gold,  suspended  by  a  blue  riband  edged  with  white, 
indicative  of  the  union  with  France.  The  principal  figure  was  Cincinnatus, 
three  senators  presenting  him  a  sword,  and  other  military  ensigns.  On  a  field 
in  the  background,  his  wife  standing  at  the  door  of  their  cottage,  near  it  a 
plough  and  instruments  of  husbandry.  Around  the  whole,  "  Omnia  reliquit 
servare  rempublicam."  On  the  reverse,  sun  rising  ;  a  city  with  open  gates, 
and  vessels  entering  the  port ;  Fame  crowning  Cincinnatus  with  a  wreath, 
inscribed,  "  Virtutis  premium."  Below,  hands  joining,  supporting  a  heart, 
with  the  motto,  "  Esto  perpetua."  Round  tire  whole,  "  Societas  Cincinnato- 
runi,  instituta  A.  D.  1783." 


HAMILTON.  347 

It  was  moved  that  her  delegates  should  be  instructed  to 
propose  a  recommendation  to  the  states,  to  authorize  con- 
gress to  regulate  the  trade  and  collect  the  revenue  upon 
the  following  principles.  To  prohibit  vessels  of  any  na- 
tion not  in  treaty  from  entering  any  of  the  ports  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  impose  any  duties  on  such  vessels, 
or  their  cargoes,  as  they  should  judge  necessary,  provided 
they  were  uniform  throughout  the  union  ;  the  proceeds  to 
pass  into  the  treasury  of  the  states  where  they  should 
accrue.  To  this  general  authority  restrictions  were  to  be 
annexed,  that  no  state  should  impose  duties  on  goods  from 
another,  by  land  or  water,  but  might  prohibit  the  impor- 
tation from  any  other  state  of  any  particular  species  of  any 
articles,  which  were  prohibited  from  all  other  places ;  and 
that  no  act  of  congress,  affecting  this  subject,  should  be  en- 
tered into  by  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  states,  nor  be  in 
force  beyond  a  limited  term.  An  effort  was  made  to  in- 
troduce an  amendment,  authorizing  a  continuance  of  this 
act,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  congress,  if  given  within  a 
year  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  limited  period,  or  a  re- 
vival of  it  by  a  similar  vote  within  a  year  after.  After 
much  debate,  the  first  resolution  was  so  amended  as  to  ex- 
punge the  words,  "  nations  not  in  treaty,"  and  to  extend 
the  power  "  to  any  foreign  nation."* 

The  authority  to  collect  a  five  per  cent,  advalorem  im- 
post was  refused,  the  restrictions  on  the  respective  states 
were  retained,  and  the  duration  of  the  act  was  limited  to 
thirteen  years,  the  amendment  authorizing  its  being  con- 
tinued having  been  rejected.  After  waiting  a  year  for  the 
concurrence  of  a  sufficient  number  of  states,  in  conferring 
this  general  power  upon  congress,  Virginia,  following  the 
example  of  other  states,  passed  a  countervailing  law,  that 
no  vessels  trading  to  the  state,  other  than  those  owned 

*  November,  1785. 


348  THE    LIFE    OF 

wholly  by  American  citizens,  or  by  states  having  commer- 
cial treaties  with  the  United  States,  should  be  permitted  to 
import  any  other  articles,  than  such  as  were  the  produce 
or  manufacture  of  the  state  or  kingdom  to  which  they  be- 
longed. She  gave  a  preference  of  duties  to  her  own  citi- 
zens, and  discriminated  between  states  having  and  those 
not  having  commercial  treaties  with  the  United  States  ;* 
and  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  ship-building  within 
the  state,  gave  a  drawback  on  the  duties  imposed  on  arti- 
cles imported  in  Virginia  built  vessels,  wholly  owned  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  These  measures,  viewed  in 
connection  with  the  vigorous  and  obnoxious  system  of  tax- 
ationf  she  now  imposed,  and  with  the  fact  that  she  had 
opened  communications  with  France  in  her  separate  capa- 
city, could  leave  little  doubt  that  she  was  preparing  for  the 
moment  to  assume  her  station  at  the  head  of  a  southern 
confederacy.  In  this  countervailing  policy  it  is  believed 
that  Maryland  was  the  first  of  the  southern  states  to  concur. 
The  action  of  New-Jersey  upon  this  subject  was  nearly 
contemporaneous  with  that  of  Virginia.  As  early  as  seven- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-eight,  she  had  represented,  when 
congress  were  framing  the  articles  of  the  confederation, 
that  the  exclusive  power  of  regulating  trade  ought  to  be 
vested  in  that  body,  and  that  the  commercial  revenue 
should  be  applied  to  the  equipment  of  a  navy  and  to  the 
common  benefit.  As  soon  as  the  policy  of  England  gave 

*  December,  1786. 

t  She  passed  a  stamp  act  levying  duties  on  legal  processes,  and  upon  all 
alienations  of  property,  and  following  out  her  policy  of  discrimination,  a  car- 
riage tax,  which  was  charged  per  wheel  on  all  home-built  coaches,  and  was 
more  than  doubled  on  imported  carriages.  She  subsequently  prohibited  the 
importation  of  rum,  brandies,  and  of  all  foreign  malt  liquors,  and  imposed  a 
tax  on  bar  iron  and  castings  ;  hemp  and  hempen  ropes  not  the  product  or 
manufacture  of  the  United  States.  Thus  far  had  that  state  proceeded,  urged 
by  a  strong  necessity,  in  a  system  of  taxation,  which,  though  much  modified, 
she  subsequently  strenuously  opposed. 


HAMILTON.  349 

practical  evidence  of  her  wise  foresight,  she  again  resolved* 
that  congress  ought  to  be  invested  with  the  power  of  pro- 
hibition. The  contiguous  state  of  Pennsylvania  had  shown 
herself  at  an  early  period  inclined  to  a  protective  system, 
and  her  successive  laws  give  evidence  of  her  desire  to  en- 
courage and  to  mature  domestic  manufactures  by  bounties 
and  discriminations.  Impelled  at  last  by  the  same  motives 
which  had  influenced  other  states,  in  March,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-six,  she  enacted  a  law  restricting  her 
commerce  to  American  vessels,  unless  the  imports  were 
made  in  bottoms  belonging  to  the  countries  of  which  their 
cargoes  were  the  growth,  product,  or  manufacture,  under 
pain  of  forfeiture,  and  levied  a  tonnage  duty  of  five  per 
cent,  on  foreign  vessels,  annexing  a  condition,  that  this  act 
should  be  in  force  until  congress  were  invested  with  the 
necessary  powers.  She  at  the  same  time  declared,  "  that 
the  privilege  in  the  degree  retained  by  the  states  individu- 
ally of  controlling  and  regulating  their  own  trade,  was  no 
longer  compatible  with  the  general  interest  and  welfare  of 
the  United  States  ;  reason  and  experience  clearly  evincing 
that  such  a  privilege  is  productive  of  mutual  inconveniences 
and  injuries  among  ourselves,  and  that  the  systems  of  seve- 
ral nations,  by  which  our  merchants  are  excluded  from 
the  most  beneficial  branches  of  their  commerce,  while  the 
whole  of  ours  is  laid  open  to  them,  cannot  be  consistently 
or  effectually  countervailed  but  by  a  unity  of  counsel  in 
the  great  representative  body  of  the  United  States." 

Connecticut  had  passed  an  "  act  for  the  regulation  of 
navigation"  during  the  war.  In  the  preamble  to  it,  she  re- 
cited, that  as  "  a  free,  sovereign,  independent  state,  she  had 
an  equal  right  with  all  other  sovereign  powers  to  the  free 
and  undisturbed  navigation  of  the  high  seas,  and  to  exer- 
cise a  convenient  jurisdiction  therein."  By  this  act,  her 

*  December  24,  1783. 


350  THE    LIFE    OF 

governor  was  appointed  "  superintendent  of  marine,"  and 
a  revenue  system  was  established.  In  May,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-four,  New-Haven  and  New-London 
were  declared  by  her  to  be  free  ports.  All  persons  remov- 
ing there  for  the  purpose  of  commerce,  were  to  become 
free  citizens  ;  and  immunities  were  offered  to  foreign  capi- 
talists who  should  engage  in  trade.  This  act  cautiously 
provided,  that  no  countenance  should  be  given  by  it  to  the 
slave  trade,  and  that  it  should  not  contravene  any  regula- 
tions which  congress  might  be  invested  with,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  regulating  commerce.  Having  granted  to  that 
body  the  power  of  raising  an  impost,  she  in  the  mean  time 
imposed  specific  duties  on  certain  enumerated  articles,  and 
an  advalorem  duty  of  five  per  cent,  on  all  other  imports, 
not  the  growth,  produce,  or  manufacture  of  the  United 
States,  whether  imported  by  land  or  water  from  any  of  the 
states,  with  a  remission  to  those  imported  by  citizens  of 
the  state  through  another  state  for  their  own  consumption. 
These  duties  were  subsequently  increased  as  to  specified 
articles,  most  of  which  were  selected  with  a  view  to  en- 
courage domestic  manufactures,  for  which  purpose,  she 
had  enacted  laws  granting  bounties.*  Subsequent  to  this  le- 
gislation for  local  objects,  she  passed  an  act  "vesting  congress 
with  power  to  regulate  the  commerce  of  the  United  States." 
While  the  other  members  of  the  confederacy  had  mani- 
fested so  strongly  their  sense  of  the  evils  which  the  policy 
of  England  had  inflicted  upon  them,  it  was  to  have  been 
expected  that  Massachusetts,  as  the  largest  navigating 
state,  would  have  been  the  earliest  to  feel,  the  loudest  to 
reclaim  against,  the  most  zealous  to  oppose,  the  measures 

*  May,  1784. — A  bounty  of  two  pence  per  ounce  on  raw  silk  raised  and 
spun  within  the  state.  In  1787,  she  exempted  from  taxation  buildings  appro- 
priated to  the  manufacture  of  woollen  cloths,  and  the  operatives  from  the 
poll  tax,  and  gave  a  bounty  on  spun  yarn.  Iron  works  were  also  exempted 
from  assessment,  except  slitting  mills. 


HAMILTON.  351 

which  paralyzed  her  industry.  But  that  energetic  state  was 
yet  under  the  influence  of  the  party  which  had  been  signally 
hostile  to  Washington,  and  jealous  of  the  general  govern- 
ment. 

The  actual  leader  of  this  party  was  Samuel  Adams  ;  the 
nominal  head,  John  Hancock.  This  gentleman  was  the 
child  of  good  fortune.  It  had  conferred  upon  him  an  im- 
portance to  which  he  had  not  been  destined  by  nature. 

Limited  in  his  information,  and  narrow  in  his  views,  he 
was  content  with  the  influence  he  had  acquired  over  the 
less  instructed  population,  in  which  he  was  much  aided  by 
the  exterior  graces  of  manner  which  adorned  this  possessor 
of  enormous  wealth.  Jealous  of  his  superiors,  his  flatter- 
ers were  his  advisers  ;  hence  his  "  great  vanity,  and  exces- 
sive caprice."  He  was  elected  the  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty,  and  continued  in 
office  until  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  when  he 
resigned  his  place,  shrinking  from  the  responsibilities  of  a 
trying  crisis.  During  his  administration  the  government 
lost  its  dignity,  the  laws  their  influence.  An  absurd  jeal- 
ousy of  congress  was  cherished,  and  many  of  the  people 
were  taught  to  think  that  Massachusetts  would  hold  a 
more  dignified  station  as  the  head  of  a  New-England  con- 
federacy, than  as  a  member  of  the  union.  It  was  probably 
under  these  influences  that  her  legislature  proposed,  in 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  appointing  delegates 
to  meet  in  convention  at  Hartford  with  the  states  of  New- 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  New- York,  to 
confer  upon  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  system  of  excise 
and  imposts  to  be  adopted  by  those  states.  Hence,  proba- 
bly, her  jealousy  of  a  national  military  peace  establishment. 
Hence,  her  denunciation  of  the  Cincinnati. 

The  successor  of  Hancock  was  a  person  of  a  far  different 
character.  James  Bowdoin,  a  man  of  strong  sense,  great 
discernment,  enlarged  views,  whose  leisure  from  public  af- 


352  THE    LIFE    OF 

fairs  was  devoted  to  the  sciences,  and  who  was  a  valued  cor- 
respondent of  Franklin,  on  that  branch  of  natural  history  in 
which  his  discoveries  have  conferred  the  largest  distinction 
upon  the  science  of  this  country.  The  father  of  Bowdoin 
was  a  Hugonot,  a  native  of  Rochelle,  whence  he  took  refuge 
in  America  from  religious  persecution.  The  son  grew  rap- 
idly in  public  confidence — was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
council  under  Governor  Bernard,  whose  arbitrary  proceed- 
ings he  firmly  opposed.  He  moved  on  with  the  revolu- 
tion, and  in  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-nine  was  chosen 
president  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  constitution 
of  the  state,  and  was  the  author  of  several  of  its  most 
valuable  provisions. 

He  died  in  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety  ;  but  his  short 
career  was  conspicuous  in  events  of  the  highest  interest. 
In  April,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  about  the  time 
he  was  chosen  governor,  a  town  meeting  was  held  at  Bos- 
ton, under  the  auspices  of  Higginson  and  Otis,  in  whose 
measures,  influenced  by  the  mechanics  of  that  place,  Han- 
cock concurred.  At  this  meeting,  a  petition  was  prefer- 
red to  congress  to  contravene  the  prohibitions  of  England, 
and  a  circular  was  addressed  to  other  maritime  places, 
which,  after  stating  the  heavy  port  charges  and  other  duties 
levied  by  England,  so  prejudicial  to  the  carrying  trade  of 
the  confederacy,  proposed  that  congress  should  be  empow- 
ered to  regulate  commerce  in  order  to  secure  reciprocity, 
"  and  to  form  a  national  establishment"  to  provide  for  the 
national  debts  and  protect  the  trade.  In  his  first  message, 
Governor  Bowdoin,  taking  a  larger  view  of  the  subject,  pro- 
posed a  general  convention  of  delegates,  to  define  the 
general  powers  of  the  confederacy,  to  preserve  the  union, 
to  manage  the  general  concerns  of  it,  and  to  secure  and 
promote  its  common  interest.  This  message  produced  the 
desired  effect.  The  legislature  of  Massachusetts  adopted 
a  resolution  urging  congress  to  recommend  a  convention 


HAMILTON.  353 

of  the  states,  "  to  revise  the  confederation,  and  to  report 
how  far  it  may  be  necessary  in  their  opinion  to  alter  or 
enlarge  the  same,  in  order  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the 
primary  objects  of  the  union."  The  governor  addressed 
a  letter  to  congress,  to  be  presented  by  the  delegates  of  the 
state.  This  important  letter  was  not  presented.  The 
reasons  for  suspending  its  delivery  are  stated  in  the  follow- 
ing reply : — 

New- York,  September  3,  1785. 

Reasons  assigned  for  suspending  the  delivery  to  con- 
gress of  the  governor's  letter  for  revising  and  altering  the 
confederation. 

It  may  be  necessary  previously  to  observe,  that  many 
are  of  opinion  the  states  have  not  yet  had  experience  suf- 
ficient to  determine  the  extent  of  the  powers  vested  in 
congress  by  the  confederation,  and  therefore  that  every 
measure  at  this  time  proposing  an  alteration  is  premature  ; 
but  admitting  the  necessity  of  immediately  investing  con- 
gress with  more  commercial  powers,  it  may  be  expedient 
to  inquire — 

First — Whether  good  policy  does  not  require  that  those 
powers  should  be  temporary  ? 

In  determining  this  question,  we  are  led  to  consider  the 
commercial  evils  to  be  remedied,  the  efficacy  of  tempo- 
rary powers  for  this  purpose,  and  the  disposition  of  the 
several  states  touching  the  subject. 

The  evils  principally  consist  in  the  impositions,  restric- 
tions, and  prohibitions  of  foreign  powers  on  our  commerce, 
and  in  the  embarrassment  resulting  from  the  commercial 
regulations  of  our  own  states.  How  far  temporary  pow- 
ers can  remedy  these  evils,  perhaps  time  and  experience 
can  only  determine.  Thus  much  may  nevertheless  be 
suggested  ;  that  as  several  treaties  which  are  now  negotia- 
ting by  our  commissioners  in  Europe  are  not  to  exceed 

45 


354  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  term  of  fifteen  years,  if  the  commercial  powers  to  be 
vested  in  congress  should  be  of  a  similar  duration,  they 
may  remedy  the  evils  for  that  term,  and  at  the  expiration 
thereof  a  new  commercial  epoch  will  commence,  when  the 
states  will  have  a  more  clear  and  comprehensive  view  of 
their  commercial  interests,  and  of  the  best  means  for  pro- 
moting the  same,  whether  by  treaties  abroad,  or  by  the 
delegation  and  exercise  of  greater  commercial  powers  at 
home. 

Whatever  the  disposition  of  the  states  may  be,  it  can  only 
be  known  by  their  acts  ;  but  the  different  views  which  they 
have  had  of  the  subject,  give  reason  to  suppose  that  some 
legislatures  will  think  temporary  commercial  powers  eligible 
under  present  circumstances  ;  and  should  this  be  the  opinion 
of  but  one,  an  attempt  immediately  to  delegate  perpetual 
commercial  powers  must  fail,  and  may  prevent  a  delega- 
tion of  temporary  powers.  For  in  politics  as  in  private 
life,  by  aiming  at  too  much,  one  ofttimes  accomplishes  no- 
thing. 

Secondly — If  the  states  are  unanimously  disposed  to  in- 
crease the  commercial  powers  of  the  confederacy,  should 
not  the  additional  powers  be  in  the  first  instance  tempo- 
rary, and  the  adoption  of  them  as  part  of  the  confederation 
depend  on  their  beneficial  effects  ?  This  is  a  question  on 
which  we  propose  not  to  venture  a  decided  opinion ;  but 
experience  teaches  us,  that  in  the  formation  of  constitu- 
tions and  laws,  the  wisest  men  have  not  been  able  to  fore- 
see the  evasions  and  abuses  which  in  the  operation  have 
resulted  from  vague  terms  and  expressions,  latent  incon- 
sistencies, artful  constructions,  and  from  too  full  and  un- 
guarded a  delegation  of  powers. 

Whether  the  subject  of  commerce,  and  the  danger  to 
which  the  states  may  be  exposed  by  a  surrender  to  the 
union  of  their  commercial  authority,  are  so  fully  under- 
stood as  to  justify  the  consideration  of  an  immediate  altera- 


HAMILTON.  355 

tion  of  the  confederation,  is  a  matter  that  the  legislatures 
alone  are  competent  to  determine.  Any  of  them  who  may 
not  be  clear  as  to  either  of  these  points,  will  probably  (as 
in  the  other  case)  be  in  the  first  instance  in  favour  of  tem- 
porary commercial  powers,  and,  if  approved  by  experience, 
of  adopting  them  as  part  of  the  confederation ;  but  should 
all  the  states  be  in  favour  of  an  immediate  alteration  of 
the  articles,  will  it  not  be  expedient  for  them  previously  to 
consider — that  however  great  the  abuse  of  this  trust  may 
hereafter  be,  however  grievous  to  a  considerable  part  of 
the  union,  the  powers  once  delegated  in  the  confederation, 
cannot  be  revoked  without  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
states — that  this  may  be  earnestly  sought  for,  but  never 
obtained — that  the  federal  and  state  constitutions  are  the 
great  bulwarks  of  liberty — that  if  they  are  subject  on  tri- 
vial, or  even  important  occasions,  to  be  revised  and  re- 
revised,  altered  and  realtered,  they  must  cease  to  be  con- 
sidered as  effectual  and  sacred  barriers,  and,  like  landmarks 
frequently  changed,  will  afford  no  certain  rule  for  ascer- 
taining the  boundaries,  no  criterion  for  distinguishing  be- 
tween the  rights  of  government  and  those  of  the  people — 
and,  therefore,  that  every  alteration  of  the  articles  should 
be  so  thoroughly  understood  and  digested,  as  scarcely  to 
admit  the  possibility  of  a  disposition  for  reconsideration. 

Thirdly — Shall  any  alteration,  either  temporary  or  per- 
petual, be  proposed  in  a  way  not  expressly  pointed  out 
by  the  confederation  ?  The  thirteenth  article  provides 
"  that  every  state  shall  abide  by  the  determination  of  the 
United  States  in  congress  assembled,  on  all  questions 
which  by  this  confederation  are  submitted  to  them.  And 
the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  inviolably  ob- 
served by  every  state,  and  the  union  shall  be  perpetual  ; 
nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in 
any  of  them,  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed 


356  THE    LIFE    OP 

by  the  legislatures  of  every  state."  Here  no  provision  is 
made  for  or  against  a  convention,  and  therefore  it  may  be 
said  not  to  be  inconsistent  with  this  article  ;  but  as  the 
proceedings  of  a  convention  would  not  be  binding  on 
congress,  should  the  latter  think  themselves  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  rejecting  the  report  of  the  former,  would  not 
the  states,  after  having  thus  incurred  a  considerable  ex- 
pense, be  dissatisfied  on  the  occasion  ?  Would  not  the  mem- 
bers of  the  convention,  which  it  must  be  supposed  would 
be  men  of  the  first  abilities  and  influence  in  the  several 
states,  be  hurt,  and  opposed  in  this  instance  to  congress  ? 
And  would  not  parties  in  the  legislatures  and  among  the 
people,  be  the  consequence  ?  If  so,  may  not  an  apprehen- 
sion of  these  evils  have  a  tendency  to  influence  some  mem- 
bers of  congress  to  give  up  their  opinions  respecting  the 
repeal,  rather  than  be  involved  in  contentions  ;  and  if  such 
are  the  prospects  of  a  convention,  will  not  congress  con- 
sider it  as  being  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  confedera- 
tion ?  Indeed  we  are  doubtful  whether  a  measure  of  this 
kind  would  not  be  viewed  as  manifesting  a  want  of  confi- 
dence in  congress,  and  on  this  ground  meet  their  disappro- 
bation. 

Fourthly — If  an  alteration,  either  temporary  or  perpet- 
ual, of  the  commercial  powers  of  congress  is  to  be  consid- 
ered by  a  convention,  shall  the  latter  be  authorized  to  re- 
vise the  confederation  generally,  or  only  for  express  pur- 
poses ?  The  great  object  of  the  revolution  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  good  government,  and  each  of  the  states  in 
forming  their  own  as  well  as  the  federal  constitution,  have 
adopted  republican  principles.  Notwithstanding  this, 
plans  have  been  artfully  laid  and  vigorously  pursued, 
which,  had  they  been  successful,  we  think  would  have  inev- 
itably changed  our  republican  governments  into  baleful 
aristocracies.  These  plans  are  frustrated,  but  the  same 
spirit  remains  in  their  abettors,  and  the  institution  of  the 


HAMILTON.  357 

Cincinnati,  honourable  and  beneficent  as  the  views  may 
have  been  of  the  officers  who  composed  it,  we  fear,  if  not 
totally  abolished,  will  have  the  same  tendency.  What  the 
effect  then  may  be  of  calling  a  convention  to  revise  the 
confederation  generally,  we  leave  with  your  excellency 
and  the  honourable  legislature  to  determine. 

We  are  apprehensive,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  declare  it, 
that  such  a  measure  would  produce  throughout  the  union, 
an  exertion  of  the  friends  of  an  aristocracy  to  send  mem- 
bers who  would  promote  a  change  of  government ;  and  we 
can  form  some  judgment  of  the  plan  which  such  mem- 
bers would  report  to  congress.  But  should  the  members 
be  altogether  republican,  such  have  been  the  declamations 
of  designing  men  against  the  confederation  generally, 
against  the  rotation  of  members,  which,  perhaps,  is  the 
best  check  to  corruption,  and  against  the  mode  of  altering 
the  confederation  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  legisla- 
tures, which  effectually  prevents  innovations  in  the  arti- 
cles by  intrigue  or  surprise,  that  we  think  there  is  great 
danger  of  a  report  which  would  invest  congress  with  pow- 
ers that  the  honourable  legislature  have  not  the  most  dis- 
tant intention  to  delegate.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  this 
can  produce  no  ill  effect,  because  congress  may  correct 
the  report,  however  exceptionable ;  or,  if  passed  by  them, 
any  of  the  states  may  refuse  to  ratify  it.  True  it  is  that 
congress  and  the  states  have  such  power,  but  would  not 
such  a  report  affect  the  tranquillity  and  weaken  the'  gov- 
ernment of  the  union?  We  have  already  considered 
the  operation  of  the  report  as  it  would  respect  con- 
gress ;  and  if  animosities  and  parties  would  naturally  arise 
from  their  rejecting  it,  how  much  would  these  be  increased 
if  the  report,  approved  by  congress  and  some  of  the  states, 
should  be  rejected  by  other  states  !  Would  there  not  be 
danger  of  a  party  spirit  being  thus  more  generally  diffused 
and  warmly  supported  ?  Far  distant  we  know  it  to  be 


358  THE    LIFE    OF 

from  the  honourable  legislature  of  Massachusetts  to  give  up 
a  single  principle  of  republicanism,  but  when  a  general 
revision  shall  have  proceeded  from  their  motion,  and  a  re- 
port, which  to  them  may  be  highly  offensive,  shall  have 
been  confirmed  by  seven  states  in  congress,  and  ratified  by 
several  legislatures,  will  not  these  be  ready  to  charge  Mas- 
sachusetts with  inconsistency  in  being  the  first  to  oppose  a 
measure  which  the  state  will  be  said  to  have  originated  ? 
Massachusetts  has  great  weight,  and  is  considered  as  one 
of  the  most  republican  states  in  the  union,  and  when  it  is 
known  that  the  legislature  have  proposed  a  general  re- 
vision, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  will  be  represented 
as  being  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  increasing  generally 
the  powers  of  congress,  and  the  opinion  of  the  state  will 
be  urged  with  such  art  as  to  convince  numbers  that  the 
articles  of  the  confederation  are  altogether  exceptionable  ; 
thus,  while  measures  are  taken  to  guard  against  the  evils 
arising  from  the  want,  in  one  or  two  particulars,  of  power 
in  congress,  we  are  in  great  danger  of  incurring  the  other 
extreme.  "  More  power  in  congress,"  has  been  the  cry 
from  all  quarters,  but  especially  of  those  whose  views,  not 
being  confined  to  a  government  that  will  best  promote  the 
happiness  of  the  people,  are  extended  to  one  that  will  af- 
ford lucrative  employments  civil  and  military.  Such  a 
government  is  an  aristocracy,  which  would  require  a 
standing  army  and  a  numerous  train  of  pensioners  and 
placemen  to  prop  and  support  its  exalted  administration. 
To  recommend  one's  self  to  such  an  administration  would  be 
to  secure  an  establishment  for  life,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
provide  for  his  posterity.  These  are  pleasing  prospects 
which  republican  governments  do  not  afford,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at,  that  many  persons  of  elevated  views 
and  idle  habits  in  these  states,  are  desirous  of  the  change. 
We  are  for  increasing  the  power  of  congress  as  far  as  it 
will  promote  the  happiness  of  the  people,  but  at  the  same 


HAMILTON.  359 

time  are  clearly  of  opinion  that  every  measure  should 
be  avoided  which  would  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  ene- 
mies to  free  government,  and  that  an  administration  of 
the  present  confederation,  with  all  its  inconveniences,  is 
preferable  to  the  risk  of  general  dissensions  and  animosi- 
ties, which  may  approach  to  anarchy,  and  prepare  the  way 
to  a  ruinous  system  of  government. 

Having  thus  from  a  sense  of  duty  we  owe  to  the  Uni- 
ted States,  as  well  as  to  our  constituents,  communicated  to 
your  excellency  our  sentiments  on  this  important  subject, 
we  request  you  to  lay  them  before  the  honourable  legislature 
at  their  next  session,  and  to  inform  them  that  their  meas- 
ures for  a  general  revision  of  the  confederation,  if  confirm- 
ed, shall  be  immediately  communicated  to  congress.  That 
no  time  will  be  lost  by  the  suspension,  since  the  requisi- 
tion to  the  important  matters  before  congress  would  have 
prevented  them  from  an  early  attention  to  the  propositions 
of  Massachusetts,  and  that  if  these  had  been  approved  by 
congress,  many  of  the  legislatures  being  now  adjourned, 
could  not  take  the  same  into  consideration. 

E.  GERRY, 
S.  HOLTEN, 
R.  KING. 

The  consequence  of  this  reply  was  a  vote  of  the  state 
legislature,  annulling  the  resolution  recommending  a  con- 
vention.* While  Massachusetts  had  been  thus  urging  a 
change  in  the  federal  system,  she  passed  a  temporary  act 
of  navigation  and  commerce.f  This  act  prohibited  the 
exportation  of  American  manufactures  or  productions  in 
British  bottoms,  until  the  English  restrictions  were  repealed ; 
limited  the  entry  of  all  foreign  vessels  to  three  designated 
ports ;  and,  in  order  to  encourage  ship-building,  levied  an 

*  November  25th,  1785.  t  June  13th,  1785. 


360  THE    LIFE    OF 

additional  tonnage  duty,  and  a  double  duty  upon  all  imports 
in  such  vessels.*  At  the  same  session  she  imposed  discri- 
minating advalorem  duties  upon  certain  enumerated  arti- 
cles, and  various  specific  duties,  for  the  avowed  purposes 
of  encouraging  agriculture,  improving  the  raw  materials, 
promoting  manufactures,  and  inducing  economy,  and  levied 
an  excise  duty  on  distilled  spirits,  and  on  several  articles 
of  luxury. 

New-Hampshire  followed  the  example  of  Massachusetts. 
The  acts  of  both  of  these  states,  it  has  been  mentioned, 
were  infractions  of  the  treaty  with  France.  A  similar 
policy  was  adopted  by  Rhode  Island. 

These  laws  proved  the  inefficacy  of  state  legislation. 
During  their  operation  almost  every  foreign  ship,  destined 
for  those  states,  sought  other  ports.  Thus  a  commerce  of 
great  value  was  lost,  and  with  it  the  revenue  which  had 
partly  prompted  to  the  discrimination.!  These  restrictive 
enactments  wrere  soon  repealed,  and  thus  all  the  injuries 
were  suffered  which  are  the  fruits  of  precipitate  legislation. 

But  these  evils  had  a  wider  influence.  The  laws  levy- 
ing imposts  disregarded  all  uniformity,  both  as  to  the  rates 
of  duties,  and  as  to  the  articles  on  which  they  were  charged. J 

*  The  tonnage  duty  was  five  shillings  per  ton.  There  was  a  clause  in  this 
act,  by  which  vessels  built  in  Massachusetts,  though  owned  by  British  sub- 
jects, should,  on  their  first  outward-bound  cargo,  pay  the  same  duties  as  native 
vessels. 

t  Representations  were  made  to  the  Virginia  legislature  that  her  commerce 
had  passed  into  other  states,  and  that  what  she  lost  Maryland  gained  by  her 
lower  duties. 

J  The  disparity  of  duties  is  seen  in  the  fiscal  provisions  of  the  southern 
states,  whose  interests  at  that  time  approximated.  Maryland  had  one  shil- 
ling and  sixpence  per  ton  on  goods  of  those  in  treaty — two  shillings  and  eight- 
pence  on  those  not  in  treaty.  On  British  goods,  six  shillings  and  eight-pence, 
and  two  shillings  per  ton  extra  on  other  goods.  Virginia  had  three  shillings 
and  sixpence  on  those  in  treaty — six  shillings  and  sixpence  on  those  not  in 
treaty,  besides  two  per  cent,  extra.  South  Carolina,  two  shillings  and  nine- 
pence  on  British  sugars — one  shilling  and  eight  pence  on  those  of  other  nations. 


HAMILTON.  3j61 

The  consequences  of  this  inequality  were  soon  felt,  but  in- 
stead of  looking  to  the  want  of  uniformity,  as  the  radical 
source  of  the  mischief,  the  wildest  remedies  were  resorted 
to.  Oppressive  penalties,  accumulated  oaths,  multiplied 
revenue  officers,  extravagant  and  partial  exemptions — the 
obvious  resources  of  ignorant  legislation — followed  ;  and 
when  these  failed,  the  states  were  seen  competing  with 
each  other  in  a  reduction  of  duties,  in  order  to  secure  a 
preference  to  their  own  ports.  Another  consequence  of 
this  disordered  state  of  things  was  the  negotiation  of  com- 
mercial leagues,  growing  out  of  geographical  causes,  be- 
tween the  states  of  New-Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  in  direct  contravention  of  the  sixth 
article  of  the  confederation.  The  remedy  for  these  evils 
had  been  recommended  by  congress — the  investing  them 
with  a  general  power  for  the  regulation  of  commerce. 
The  delay  to  embrace  it  is  more  decisive  than  any  other 
fact  of  the  irrational  adherence  to  state  rights.  Only  four 
states  had  fully  complied  with  this  recommendation.  Six 
had  enacted  laws  clogged  with  embarrassing  conditions. 
Two  had  wholly  disregarded  it. 

How  narrow  were  the  views  which  could  not  see  the 
advantages  of  an  unrestrained  intercourse  between  the 
states,  thus  increasing  the  variety  of  exports,  and  enlarging 
the  field  of  commercial  enterprise  !  How  blind  the  jeal- 
ousy which,  in  withholding  a  central  power  to  regulate 
commerce,  overlooked  the  obvious  facts,  that,  intersected 
as  the  states  are  by  deeply  penetrating  rivers,  or  divided  by 
artificial  boundaries,  no  efficient  guards  against  illicit  trade 
could  be  interposed  by  means  consistent  with  the  maxims 
of  a  mild  policy,  and  with  a  moderate  expense  ;  and  that 
the  necessary  expense  would  compel  a  resort  to  harsh  and 
onerous  systems  of  taxation  ;  that  thus  the  states  "  would 
be  obliged,"  in  Hamilton's  language,  "to  strengthen  the 
executive  arm  of  government,  in  doing  which  their  consti- 

46 


362  THE    LIFE    OP 

tutions  would  acquire  a  progressive  direction  towards 
monarchy." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  of  New- York,  in  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  Governor  Clinton 
proposed  an  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  congress,  if  ne- 
cessary, to  counteract  the  British  proclamations.  He  also 
suggested  the  establishment  of  funds  to  pay  the  interest 
and  discharge  the  principal  of  the  state  debt,  and  indicated 
as  means,  exclusive  of  direct  taxation,  the  sale  of  the  pub- 
lic lands,  internal  duties  and  excises,  marine  passes,  and  a 
tax  on  sales  at  auction.  The  suggestion  as  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  powers  of  congress,  was  not  acted  upon. 

The  state  preferred  exercising  a  control  over  its  com- 
merce, and  having  established  a  customhouse,  passed  an 
act  regulating  the  customs.  This  act  imposed  a  double 
duty  on  distilled  spirits  imported  in  vessels  having  a  Brit- 
ish register,  but  made  no  other  discrimination.  A  similar 
duty  was,  during  the  next  year,  proposed  on  all  imports  in 
vessels  owned  in  whole  or  in  part  by  British  subjects,  un- 
less, for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  navigation,  such  ves- 
sels were  built  within  the  state.* 

Sensible  of  the  necessity  of  conferring  this  power  on  the 
confederacy,  General  Schuyler  opposed  this  act  in  the  sen- 
ate, and  Duer  in  the  assembly.  It  was  negatived  by  the 
council  of  revision,  on  the  ground  "  that  every  attempt  by 
a  state  to  regulate  trade  without  the  concurrence  of  others, 
must  produce  injury  to  the  state,  without  any  general 
good ;  that  partial  duties  would  lead  to  countervailing  du- 
ties, and  that  state  legislation  on  this  subject,  would  inter- 
fere with  and  embarrass  the  commercial  treaties."  It  nev- 
ertheless became  a  law. 


*  Congress  had,  in  April,  1784,  recommended  the  grant  of  a  general  pow- 
er to  them  for  this  purpose.  This  local  act  was  passed  in  the  following  No- 
vember. 


HAMILTON.  363 

Assured  that  the  conferring  on  congress  the  sole  power 
of  commercial  regulation,  would  be  an  important  step  to- 
wards the  institution  of  a  more  efficient  government, 
Hamilton  is  now  seen  again  exerting  his  influence.  The 
chamber  of  commerce  were  advised  to  petition  the  legisla- 
ture. A  large  meeting  was  convened  in  New- York, 
which  was  earnestly  addressed  by  him,  and  passed  resolu- 
tions recommending  the  measure.  Circulars  were  issued 
to  the  other  states,  and  a  correspondence  opened,  which 
urged  an  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  congress  to  enable 
them  to  regulate  trade  and  to  establish  a  navy. 

The  legislature  yielded  to  these  combined  efforts,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  session  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five, 
passed  an  act  to  vest  congress  for  a  term  of  fifteen  years 
with  power  to  prohibit  the  importation  or  exportation  of 
articles  of  commerce  in  the  vessels  of  states  "  not  in  treaty," 
and  also  to  prohibit  the  subjects  of  any  foreign  state,  not  in 
treaty,  from  importing  any  goods  or  merchandise,  not  the 
produce  or  manufacture  of  the  sovereign  whose  subjects 
they  were.  But  an  express  proviso  was  annexed,  excluding 
the  United  States  from  collecting  any  revenue  or  duties 
within  the  state,  without  the  sanction  of  its  legislature. 

The  delay  of  New-York  to  concur  in  this  measure  of 
general  relief,  had  created  great  excitement  in  the  adjoin- 
ing states  of  New-Jersey  and  Connecticut.  The  former 
declared  Perth  Amboy  and  Burlington  free  ports,  and  of- 
fered special  exemptions  to  merchants  removing  thither,  as 
lures  to  commercial  capital.  In  Connecticut,  such  was  the 
discontent,  that  an  entire  prohibition  of  all  intercourse 
with  its  southern  neighbour  was  proposed,  and  would 
probably  soon  have  been  attempted. 

While  this  conflicting  legislation  prevailed  in  the  various 
states,  the  patience  of  the  suffering  people  was  nearly  ex- 
hausted. In  several,  the  debtors  were  seen  striving  to  obtain 
an  ascendency  in  the  legislatures,  and  by  suspension  acts  to 


364  THE    LIFE    OF 

delay  the  collection  of  debts  ;  and  a  general  disposition  was 
discovered,  notwithstanding  its  evils  had  so  recently  been 
felt,  to  seek  relief  in  state  emissions  of  paper  money. 

A  majority  was  found  in  New- York,  in  despite  of  the 
most  earnest  remonstrances  through  the  press,  in  favour  of 
the  issue  of  bills  of  credit,  which  were  declared  a  legal 
tender,  and  a  discrimination  was  contemplated  among  the 
different  classes  of  creditors.  Two-fifths  of  the  debt  due 
by  congress  to  the  state  were  to  be  provided  for,  and  the 
claims  of  the  army,  of  the  holders  of  the  loan-office  certifi- 
cates, and  of  the  board  of  treasury,  were  to  be  turned  over 
to  the  exhausted  exchequer  of  the  union, — thus  by  divi- 
ding the  interests  of  the  creditors,  to  weaken  one  of  the 
principal  supports  of  the  continental  system.  A  bill  for 
the  emission  of  state  paper  also  passed  the  assembly  of 
New-Jersey,  but  was  rejected  by  the  council  through  the 
firmness  of  Governor  Livingston.  So  great  was  the  pop- 
ular excitement  against  him,  that  this  virtuous  patriot  was 
loudly  decried  and  burned  in  effigy. 

South  Carolina  adopted  a  similar  policy.  Every  effort 
was  made  by  its  citizens  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  paper ; 
but  such  were  their  impoverishment  and  discord,  that  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  pass  laws  tantamount  to  closing 
the  courts  of  justice:  North  Carolina  and  Georgia*  fol- 
lowed this  vicious  example.  Thus,  of  the  southern  states, 
Maryland  and  Virginia  only  escaped  the  contagion. 

Rhode  Island,  whose  conduct  had  become  a  reproach 
to  its  inhabitants,  did  not  merely  issue  a  state  paper,  but 
finding  it  rapidly  sinking,  passed  laws,  rendering  a  refusal 
of  it  at  specie  value  highly  penal  in  the  first  instance — 
declared  that  a  second  offence  should  be  followed  by 
disfranchisement,  and  created  special  tribunals  to  try  the 


*  The  paper  of  North  Carolina  is  stated  to  have  depreciated  25  per  cent ; 
that  of  Georgia  and  Rhode  Island,  80  per  cent. 


HAMILTON.  365 

offenders,  depriving,  by  a  formal  enactment,  the  accused 
party  of  trial  by  jury.  Clauses  were  added  imposing 
a  test  oath  to  support  the  paper  at  par,  suspending  all 
officers  who  should  not  subscribe  it  within  twenty  days 
after  its  date,  rendering  a  subscription  of  this  oath  a  quali- 
fication of  the  next  legislature,  and  compelling  every  male 
who  had  arrived  at  manhood  to  take  it,  or  be  disfranchised. 
It  was  called  the  bloody  bill.  An  information  was  filed 
for  refusing  the  paper.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court 
decided  against  it.  They  were  summoned  to  appear  before 
the  assembly  to  explain  their  decision  :  four  of  them  were 
displaced  by  the  omnipotence  of  the  democracy. 

Indignant  at  these  reckless  proceedings,  Connecticut 
enacted  a  retaliatory  law  suspending  existing  suits,  and 
forbidding  the  commencement  of  others. 

Indications  of  a  similar  temper  were  evinced  in  Massa- 
chusetts. A  proposition  was  widely  circulated,  that  the 
New-England  states  should  virtually  abdicate  the  union  by 
the  withdrawal  of  their  delegates"  from  congress  ;  and  in  the 
disorganizing  rage  for  dismemberment,  her  western  coun- 
ties began  to  look  to  a  severance  from  her  dominion.  But 
as  a  state,  Massachusetts  firmly  adhered  to  the  obligations 
of  good  faith,  resisted  every  effort  to  emit  paper,  rejected 
with  indignation  a  proposal  to  purchase  her  securities  at 
a  depreciated  value,  granted  the  impost  to  congress,  and 
subsequently  passed  a  law  to  carry  into  effect  its  proposi- 
tions for  supplementary  funds. 

The  vigour  of  character  which  distinguished  her  in  her 
support  of  the  public  faith,  was  not  less  shown  by  that 
part  of  her  population  who,  from  a  variety  of  causes,  were 
opposed  to  the  requirements  of  justice. 

While  in  other  states  much  noisy  discontent  and  angry 
clamour  were  heard,  among  this  energetic  people  dissatis- 
faction soon  ripened  into  rebellion. 

Peculiar  causes  had  combined  to  increase  the  pressure 


366  THE    LIFE    OF 

on  the  states  of  Massachusetts  and  New-Hampshire. 
Their  seaboard  population,  from  being  engaged  in  the 
fisheries,  and  thus  following  pursuits  far  removed  from 
the  influence  of  the  laws,  were  little  accustomed  to  re- 
straint. Thrown  out  of  their  ordinary  occupations  at  a 
time  when  the  price  of  labour  was  low,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  seek  subsistenqe  on  any  terms,  and  thus  diminished 
its  general  value.  The  demand  for  supplies  created  by 
their  remote  expeditions  had  ceased.  The  commercial 
restrictions  prevented  the  outlet  of  the  surplus  produce 
of  the  state  ;  and  thus  each  class,  the  grower  and  the  con- 
sumer, were  mutually  impoverished  ;  and  the  taxes,  which 
prior  to  the  revolution  had  little  exceeded  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  had  augmented  to  an  enormous  amount. 
The  depreciation  of  the  currency  increased  the  distress. 
While  it  enhanced  the  nominal  amount  of  the  taxes  and 
public  charges,  by  interrupting  private  credit,  it  deterred 
from  pursuits  which  alone  could  provide  resources  for  their 
discharge,  and  led  on  to  speculative  measures,  all  of  which 
aggravated  the  eviL 

A  large  number  also  of  the  inhabitants  had  been  called  out 
by  military  requisitions  during  the  war  on  temporary  expe- 
ditions, and  leaving  the  sober  routine  of  ordinary  life,  had 
acquired  all  the  licentiousness  without  the  discipline  of  the 
camp.  The  firmness  of  the  legislature  put  in  motion  every 
active  and  turbulent  spirit.  Combinations  were  formed  en- 
tertaining desperate  designs,  and  conventions  of  delegates 
from  extensive  districts  of  the  state  were  held,  which  adopt- 
ed the  most  violent  resolutions,  censuring  every  measure  that 
had  been  taken  to  fulfil  the  public  engagements  ;  declaring 
open  hostility  to  the  ministers  of  justice ;  calling  for  an 
abolition  of  all  existing  contracts ;  claiming  an  equal  dis- 
tribution of  property ;  and  at  the  same  time  professing 
that  their  proceedings  were  constitutional ! 

This  ebullition  \vas  soon  followed  by  acts  of  open  resist- 


HAMILTON. 


ance  to  the  laws.  The  courts  were  surrounded  by  insur- 
gents ;  mobs  accompanied  the  judges  in  their  circuits ;  and 
in  the  three  western  and  largest  counties  of  the  state,  all 
legal  process  was  defied.  On  intelligence  of  these  pro- 
ceedings, the  state  government  attempted  to  exert  its  civil 
power ;  but  instead  of  repressing,  this  confirmed  and  irri- 
tated the  insurgents.  The  contagion  spread  from  town  to 
town,  and  it  at  last  became  manifest  that  a  military  force 
could  alone  overawe  their  violence. 

The  legislature  having  been  convened,  measures  were 
adopted,  not  without  opposition  from  those  claiming 
the  appellation  of  the  friends  of  the  people,  conferring 
powers  on  the  executive  equal  to  the  emergency.  These 
became  the  subjects  of  louder  clamours  and  greater  irri- 
tation. Offers  of  pardon  were  disregarded.  Renewed 
and  more  extensive  opposition  was  excited  against  the 
courts  of  justice,  which  were  in  one  instance  compelled 
to  stipulate  to  hold  no  future  sessions,  and  in  another  to 
give  hostages  for  the  protection  of  the  insurgents.  In 
Taunton,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  station  a  body 
of  militia  to  secure  the  judges  and  the  jury  from  per- 
sonal violence.  The  discontented,  who  had  previously 
shown  themselves  in  detached  parties,  moved  to  a  com- 
mon point ;  and  at  last  a  body  of  a  thousand  insurgents 
was  collected  under  the  command  of  a  late  captain  in  the 
continental  army,  who  billeted  themselves  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  apprehended  every  person  obnoxious  to  their 
views.  The  necessity  of  abandoning  the  lenity  which  had 
thus  far  governed  the  councils  of  the  state,  now  became  ob- 
vious. Orders  were  given  to  the  militia  to  march  upon  cer- 
tain positions,  and  the  assembled  corps  were  put  in  motion 
— one  under  General  Lincoln,  the  other  under  General 
Shephard — to  check  the  progress  of  the  insurrection.  These 
decisive  steps  were  attended  with  complete  success.  The 
insurgents  in  most  instances  fled  before  the  military. 


368  THE    LIFE    OF 

Where  they  made  a  stand,  their  resistance  was  feeble  and 
heartless,  and  after  a  few  occasional  skirmishes,  they  dis- 
persed and  took  refuge  in  the  adjacent  states.  With  little 
hope  of  success,  and  without  the  means  of  keeping  in  a 
body,  they  soon  dwindled  into  insignificance,  and  except  a 
few  predatory  incursions  by  which  the  frontiers  of  the 
state  were  harassed,  quiet  was  restored. 

In  New-Hampshire,*  a  similar  spirit  had  been  also 
aroused.  In  the  beginning  of  eighty-five,  the  legislature, 
yielding  to  the  distresses  of  the  people,  had  enacted  a  law 
making  every  species  of  property  a  tender  at  an  appraised 
value.  The  creditors  consequently  withheld  their  demands, 
and  the  debtors  neglected  payment.  Goods  and  real  pro- 
perty being  thereby  substituted  as  a  medium  of  exchange, 
specie  was  hoarded,  credit  suspended,  and  the  distress  in- 
creased. A  convention  was  held  which  urged  upon  the 
government  the  emission  of  bills  of  credit,  that  should  be  a 
legal  tender.  A  plan  was  formed  by  the  legislature  for  an 
issue,  to  be  loaned  on  landed  security,  redeemable  at  a  future 
period,  which  was  submitted  to  the  people  ;  but  before  any 
expression  of  opinion  could  be  obtained,  an  armed  body 
assembled  at  Exeter,  the  seat  of  government,  where  the 
legislature  was  in  session,  and  demanded  an  immediate 
compliance  with  their  terms.  The  alarmed  assembly  pro- 
posed to  consider  their  complaints ;  but  the  senate  main- 
tained its  dignity.  General  Sullivan,  who  was  the  presi- 
dent, addressed  the  people,  exposing  the  absurdity  of  their 
demands,  and  avowing  his  determination,  even  if  the  whole 
state  was  in  favour  of  the  measure,  not  to  yield  while  they 
were  surrounded  by  an  armed  force  ;  and  that  no  consider- 
ation of  personal  danger  should  compel  him  to  so  flagrant 
a  violation  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  people. 

The  contumacious  mob  then  beat  to  arms,  loaded  their 

*  Collections  of  the  New-Hampshire  Historical  Society. 


HAMILTON.  369 

muskets  with  ball,  and  placing  sentinels  at  the  doors,  held 
the  legislature  prisoners  throughout  the  day.  At  night- 
fall, Sullivan  again  addressed  them.  In  reply  to  his  firm 
harangue,  nothing  was  heard  but  loud  clamours  for  "pa- 
per money" — "an  equal  distribution  of  property9' — "the  an- 
nihilation of  debts" — and  "  a  release  of  taxes"  At  this  moment 
a  drum  was  heard,  and  a  party  came  in  sight,  huzzaing  for 
government.  The  mob  was  alarmed,  and  Sullivan,  followed 
by  the  legislature,  passed  unimpeded  through  its  dense  col- 
umns. He  immediately  reassembled  the  legislature  in  another 
place,  issued  orders  at  midnight  for  the  militia,  and  a  body  of 
two  thousand  being  collected  at  an  early  hour,  he  ad- 
vanced and  addressed  the  insurgents,  drawn  up  in  order  of 
battle.  A  part  yielded,  the  rest  fled,  and,  except  to  an  attempt 
to  seize  the  persons  of  their  leaders,  no  resistance  was  offered. 
The  contest  was  soon  after  transferred  from  the  field  to 
the  elections,  and,  without  any  diminished  cause  of  dis- 
content, the  people  settled  down  in  a  general  submission  to 
the  laws.  The  leaders,  Parsons,  Shays,  and  French,  threw 
themselves  on  the  mercy  of  government,  which,  with  a 
prudent  mildness,  was  satisfied  with  their  disfranchisement. 

It  would  be  an  error  to  pronounce  the  issue  of  these 
events  merely  fortunate,  for  where  can  an  instance  be  ad- 
duced of  so  great  and  long-continued  an  excitement,  pro- 
ceeding from  such  ample  causes,  among  a  people  just 
emerging  from  a  civil  war,  subdued  so  soon  by  a  reluctant 
exercise  of  power,  and  that  power  the  very  people,  most 
of  whom  were  participators  in  the  sufferings  which  sharp- 
ened the  edge  of  discontent  ? 

The  ease  with  which  this  insurrection  was  suppressed, 
may  be  in  part  attributed  to  the  influence  of  a  few  of  the 
leaders  in  the  revolution,  who  continued  to  possess  the 
confidence  of  the  public  ;  but  more  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
character  of  an  enlightened  and  not  dense  community, 
where  an  equal  condition  and  equal  forms  of  government 

47 


370  THE    LIFE    OF 

had  produced  habits  of  obedience  to,  and  reverence  for, 
the  laws.  But  it  would  be  not  less  an  error  to  overlook 
the  fact,  that  the  issue  of  this  controversy  is  a  rare  excep- 
tion to  the  usual  course  of  such  events,  and  to  infer  from 
it,  that  a  civilized  society  may  safely  repose  upon  the  un- 
controlled virtue  and  intelligence  of  its  members.  The 
tendency  of  civilization  is  to  produce  inequalities  of  condi- 
tion, and  in  the  short  period  which  has  elapsed  since  this 
rebellion,  and  notwithstanding  the  propitious  circumstances 
in  which  she  has  been  placed,  it  would  be  vain  at  this  time 
to  expect,  even  in  Massachusetts,  a  similar  result. 

A  more  extraordinary  deduction  has  been  drawn  from  the 
tranquil  termination  of  this  contest  with  the  laws — that  re- 
bellions are  salutary ;  "  that  the  tree  of  liberty  must  be  wa- 
tered with  blood,"*  and  that  societies  which  rely  for  the 
preservation  of  order  upon  the  vigour  of  government,  are 
unwisely  constituted. 

Every  violent  aggression  upon  constitutional  authority 
is  an  invasion  of  the  first  principle  of  social  institutions  ; 
and  little  permanence  or  happiness  can  those  institutions 
hope  to  enjoy,  or  to  preserve,  which  for  a  moment  admit 
the  dangerous  doctrine,  except  in  the  extreme  cases  which 
justify  a  revolution,  of  a  resort  to  force. 

Another  inference  must  be  adverted  to,  because  it  is  known 
to  be  the  basis  upon  which  a  large  superstructure  of  invidious 
censure  upon  the  people  of  New-England  has  been  raised — 
that  these  scenes  prompted  in  that  part  of  the  confederacy 
a  desire  for  a  monarchical  form  of  government.  This  is 
an  error  natural  to  the  region  of  country  in  which  it  was 
propagated  ;  for  where  slavery  debases  all  at  least  below 
the  rank  of  master,  how  short  is  the  interval  between  re- 
volt and  ruin ;  how  great  the  excuse  for  rigour  in  the 
harsh ;  how  little  room  for  lenity  in  the  gentle  ;  how  fear- 

*  Jefferson's  writings. 


HAMILTON.  371 

ful  the  consequence  of  awakening  the  sufferer  to  a  sense 
of  his  injuries  ;  how  prone  the  mind  to  power !  But  there 
is  no  analogy  in  the  respective  circumstances  of  the  south- 
ern and  the  eastern  states.  Under  less  equal  forms,  rebel- 
lion has  usually  produced  some  great  modification  of  the 
political  system,  either  by  larger  grants  of  privilege  to  the 
subject,  or  greater  concentration  of  strength  in  the  rulers  ; 
but  in  New-England,  weakness  made  no  sacrifices,  power 
acquired  no  augmentation,  and  the  insurgents  were  seen  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  not  as  trembling  vassals,  reduced  to 
the  sway  of  an  imperious  master,  but  as  an  erring  part  of 
the  people  rejoining  the  mass,  happy  to  return  under  the 
protection  of  laws  which  they  had  shared  in  framing,  and 
knew  they  could  participate  in  modifying.  There  is  not 
an  authenticated  fact  to  show,  that  these  events  excited  a 
wish  for  any  other  than  a  more  efficient  but  equally  free 
government. 

Whether  by  giving  a  different  direction  to  the  public 
mind,  and  offering  a  new  hope  of  relief,  the  proposed  con- 
vention of  the  states  would  have  prevented  these  alarming 
occurrences,  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  The  despair 
of  aid  from  state  legislation  may  have  stimulated  the  peo- 
ple to  violence  ;  but  it  is  rather  to  be  believed  that  the 
popular  feelings  were  too  much  excited,  the  suffering  too 
great  and  extensive,  to  have  waited  the  issue  of  so  slow  a 
process.  The  rebellious  temper  of  the  populace  rendered 
a  vigorous  exertion  of  the  powers  of  government  neces- 
sary ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  this  necessity  had 
much  influence  in  inducing  the  states  to  consent  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  federal  constitution. 

The  prostration  of  commerce,  the  poverty  and  anarchy 
of  the  country,  the  hopeless  prospect  before  them,  com- 
pelled the  people  to  feel  the  want  of  that  which  Hamilton 
was  the  first  to  indicate  as  the  only  resource — "  a  more 
perfect  union."  New- York  had  been  the  earliest  to  pro- 


372  THE    LIFE    OF 

pose  a  convention  of  the  states.  After  longer  experience, 
Massachusetts  had  declared  her  conviction  of  its  necessity ; 
to  which  Virginia,  eminently  jealous  of  her  state  sove- 
reignty, was  impelled  by  peculiar  circumstances  at  last  to 
assent. 

Her  geographical  position  rendered  it  extremely  difficult 
to  establish  an  efficient,  and  at  the  same  time  an  indepen- 
dent revenue  system.  This  difficulty  had  early  suggested 
the  importance  of  forming  a  compact  with  Maryland,  as 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  their  confluent  waters ;  and  in  De- 
cember, seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  commis- 
sioners were  appointed  by  Virginia  for  this  object.  The 
subject  was  resumed  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four, 
and  a  similar  commission  created.  Nothing  having  been 
effected  by  them,  new  commissioners  were  chosen  in  the 
succeeding  year,  who  met  the  deputies  of  Maryland  at 
Mount  Vernon.  There  they  agreed  upon  an  act  regula- 
ting the  commercial  intercourse  through  the  Potomac  and 
Chesapeake,  and  defining  the  jurisdiction  of  each  state. 
But  at  the  moment  of  framing  this  compact,  they  deemed 
it  necessary  to  extend  its  provisions  so  as  to  authorize  the 
establishment  of  a  naval  force  to  protect  these  estuaries, 
and  the  formation  of  a  mutual  tariff.  This  compact,  by 
the  articles  of  the  confederation,  required  the  previous 
consent  of  congress.  To  obviate  that  difficulty,  these  de- 
puties recommended  to  their  respective  states  the  appoint- 
ment of  other  commissioners  with  enlarged  powers,  to 
whose  proceedings  the  permission  of  congress  was  to  be 
solicited. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  January,  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-six,  resolutions  passed  the  legislature  of  Virginia  for 
a  uniformity  of  duties  between  the  two  states,  and  that 
commissioners  should  be  chosen  to  meet  annually,  if  re- 
quired, to  regulate  their  mutual  commercial  interests. 
They  were  instructed  particularly  to  provide,  that  foreign 


HAMILTON.  373 

gold  should  pass  at  the  same  rate  in  both  states,  and  that 
the  same  amount  of  damages  should  be  charged  on  pro- 
tested bills  of  exchange.  A  few  days  after,  the  house  of 
delegates  passed  a  resolution,  directing  the  projected  ar- 
rangement to  be  communicated  to  all  the  other  states,  who 
were  invited  to  send  deputies  to  a  general  meeting  for  the 
precise  purpose  "  of  considering  how  far  a  uniform  system 
of  taxation  in  their  commercial  intercourse  and  regula- 
tions might  be  necessary  to  their  common  interest  and 
permanent  harmony ;  and  to  report  an  act  relative  to  this 
great  object,  which,  when  ratified,  Would  enable  the  United 
States,  in  congress  assembled,  effectually  to  provide  for  the 
same."  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Virginia  merely  con- 
templated a  commercial  arrangement,  falling  far  short  of 
the  policy  which  New- York  and  Massachusetts  had  pre- 
viously embraced. 

Her  reluctance  in  granting,  and  her  repeals  of  the  im- 
post ;*  her  hostility  to  a  federal  judiciary  ;  her  jealousy  as 
to  the  Mississippi ; — all  leave  little  room  for  doubt,  that  the 
project  of  a  continental  convention  to  frame  a  constitution, 
would  at  an  earlier  period  have  been  feebly  sustained  by 
her.  Washington's  circular  letter  had  produced  no  action 
on  her  part,  and  her  councils  were  swayed  by  penmen  who 
looked  upon  an  invigoration  of  the  union  with  jealousy, 
because  the  suggestion  had  emanated  from  the  army,  and 
who,  speculating  in  their  closets  on  the  dangers  of  con- 
ferring power,  had  not  considered  how  much  greater  wrere 
the  evils  of  usurpation,  even  from  "  necessity,"  than  those 


*  In  a  letter  from  R.  H.  Lee,  he  states,  his  apprehensions  of  alterations  in 
Ihe  articles  of  the  confederation,  that  he  had  "  ever  been  opposed  to  the  five 
per  cent,  impost,"  that  he  never  could  agree  that  congress  "  shall  dictate  the 
mode  of  taxation,  or  that  the  collection  shall  in  any  manner  be  subject  to 
congressional  control."  He  was  opposed  to  the  power  of  regulating  trade. — 
Life,  v.  2,  pp.  62,  71. 


374  THE    LIFE    OP 

of  a  large  constitutional  authority.*  Yet  the  precedence 
of  that  state  in  this  important  measure,  has  been  claimed 
without  hesitation,  and  generally  received  as  a  part  of 
American  history.  It  is  time  that  this  error,  with  many 
others,  should  be  corrected. 

Soon  after  this  project  was  first  agitated,  Hamilton, 
whose  mind  had  long  laboured  with  the  great  design  of  a 
national  constitution,  determined  to  bring  about  the  co- 
operation of  New- York.  It  was  a  part  of  his  plan,  that 
the  state  legislature  should  definitively  adopt  or  reject  the 
revenue  system  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  and 
in  case  of  its  rejection,  should  appoint  commissioners  to 
attend  the  commercial  convention.  "  Hamilton,"  Troup 
relates,  "  had  no  idea  that  the  legislature  could  be  prevail- 
ed on  to  adopt  the  system  as  recommended  by  congress, 
neither  had  he  any  partiality  for  a  commercial  convention, 
otherwise  than  as  a  stepping  stone  to  a  general  conven- 
tion, to  form  a  general  constitution.  In  pursuance  of 
his  plan,  the  late  Mr.  Duer,  the  late  Colonel  Malcom,  and 
myself,  were  sent  to  the  state  legislature  as  part  of  the 

*  In  a  letter  of  Madison  to  R.  H.  Lee,  he  observes,  "  I have  not  yet  found 
leisure  to  scan  the  project  of  a  continental  convention  with  so  close  an  eye 
as  to  have  made  up  any  observations  worthy  of  being  mentioned  to  you.  In 
general,  I  hold  it  for  a  maxim,  that  the  union  of  the  states  is  essential  for  their 
safety  against  foreign  danger  and  internal  contention,  and  that  the  perpetui- 
ty and  efficacy  of  the  present  system  cannot  be  confided  in.  The  question 
therefore  is,  in  what  mode  and  at  what  moment  the  experiment  for  supplying 
the  defects  ought  to  be  made.  The  answer  to  this  question  cannot  be  made 
without  a  knowledge,  greater  than  I  possess,  of  the  temper  and  views  of  the 
different  states.  Virginia  seems,  I  think,  to  have  excellent  dispositions  to- 
wards the  confederacy,  but  her  assent  or  dissent  to  such  a  proposition,  would 
probably  depend  much  upon  the  chance  of  having  no  opponent  capable  of 
rousing  the  jealousies  and  prejudices  of  the  assembly  against  innovations, 
particularly  such  as  will  derogate  from  their  own  power  and  importance. 
Should  a  view  of  the  other  states  present  no  objections  against  the  experi- 
ment, individually,  I  would  wish  none  to  be  presupposed  here." — 2  Life  of 
R.  H.  Lee,  p.  220.  Dec.  25,  1784. 


HAMILTON.  375 

city  delegation,  and  we  were  to  make  every  possible  effort 
to  accomplish  Hamilton's  objects. 

"Duer  was  a  man  of  commanding  eloquence.  We 
went  to  the  legislature,  and  pressed  totis  viribus  the  grant 
of  the  impost  agreeably  to  the  requisition  of  congress.  We 
failed  in  obtaining  it.  The  resolutions  of  Virginia  were 
communicated  by  Governor  Clinton,  on  the  fourteenth  of 
March,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-six.  We  went  all 
our  strength  in  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  attend 
the  commercial  convention,  in  which  we  were  successful. 
The  commissioners  were  instructed  to  report  their  pro- 
ceedings to  the  next  legislature :  Hamilton  was  appointed 
one  of  them.  Thus  it  was,  that  he  was  the  principal 
instrument  to  turn  this  state  to  a  course  of  policy  that 
saved  our  country  from  incalculable  mischiefs,  if  not  from 
total  ruin." 

While  this  subject  was  in  agitation  in  other  states,  Gov- 
ernor Bowdoin  was  using  all  his  influence  to  incite  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  to  the  promotion  of  their  true  in- 
terests. In  a  special  message,  he  urged  upon  the  legisla- 
ture the  protection  of  manufactures,  stating  that  the  looms 
were  idle,  in  consequence  of  excessive  importations.  On 
a  subsequent  occasion,  after  descanting  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  conferring  the  necessary  powers  upon  congress, 
he  placed  before  them  the  serious  inquiry, "  Shall  the  union 
cease  to  exist  ?"  and  as  soon  as  he  received  the  circular 
of  Virginia,  he  recommended  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners to  the  commercial  convention,  which  the  legislature 
approved.  New-Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Pennsylvania  co- 
operated in  the  measure.  "The  delegates  appointed  by 
New- York  were  Hamilton,  Duane,  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
Robert  C.  Livingston,  Benson,  and  Gansevoort.  Ganse- 
voort  declined  the  appointment.  Duane  was  prevented 
attending  by  indisposition,  Robert  R.  Livingston  by  bu- 
siness. Hamilton  and  Benson  (then  attorney-general  of 


376  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  state)  proceeded  to  Annapolis,  where  they  met  the 
other  commissioners."  After  a  short  interview,  "a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  states, 
which  was  reported  and  agreed  to, — the  whole  in  the 
course  of  three  or  fqur  days,  and  we  separated.  The  draft 
was  by  Hamilton,  although  not  formally  one  of  the  com- 
mittee."* 

In  the  draft  as  originally  framed,  Hamilton  had  exhibit- 
ed frankly  and  at  large  the  condition  of  the  states,  and 
the  necessity  of  an  efficient  government.  But  it  was 
thought,f  from  the  sentiments  of  some  of  the  delegates,  and 
the  lukewarmness  exhibited  by  the  non-attendance  of  so 
many  states,  that  his  statements  were  too  explicit,  and  he  re- 
duced the  address  to  the  form  in  which  it  now  appears,  sign- 
ed by  Governor  Dickinson,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting. 

"  To  the  honourable  the  legislatures  of  Virginia,  Delaware, 

Pennsylvania,  and  New- York. 

"  The  commissioners  from  the  said  states  respectively 
assembled  at  Annapolis,  humbly  beg  leave  to  report,  That 
pursuant  to  their  several  appointments,  they  met  at  Anna- 
polis, in  the  state  of  Maryland,  on  the  eleventh  day  of 
September,  instant,  and  having  proceeded  to  a  communi- 
cation of  their  powers,  they  found  that  the  states  of  New- 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  had  in  substance,  and 
nearly  in  the  same  terms,  authorized  their  respective  com- 
missioners to  meet  such  commissioners  as  were  or  might 
be  appointed  by  the  other  states  in  the  union,  at  such  time 
and  place  as  should  be  agreed  upon  by  the  said  commis- 
sioners, to  take  into  consideration  the  trade  and  commerce 


*  Memoir  published  by  Judge  Benson. 

t  The  governor,  Edmund  Randolph,  objected  to  the  report  as  first  framed. 
Madison  then  observed  to  Hamilton,  "  You  had  better  yield  to  this  man,  for 
otherwise  all  Virginia  will  be  against  you." 


HAMILTON,  377 

of  the  United  States,  to  consider  how  far  an  uniform  system 
in  their  commercial  intercourse  and  regulations  might  be 
necessary  to  their  common  interest  and  permanent  harmo- 
ny, and  to  report  to  the  several  states  such  an  act  relative 
to  this  great  object,  as,  when  unanimously  ratified  by  them, 
would  enable  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled 
effectually  to  provide  for  the  same. 

"  That  the  state  of  Delaware  had  given  similar  powers 
to  their  commissioners ;  with  this  difference  only,  that  the 
act  to  be  framed  in  virtue  of  these  powers,  is  required  to 
be  reported  '  to  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled, 
to  be  agreed  to  by  them,  and  confirmed  by  the  legislature 
of  every  state.' 

"  That  the  state  of  New-Jersey  had  enlarged  the  object 
of  their  appointment,  empowering  their  commissioners  '  to 
consider  how  far  an  uniform  system  in  their  commercial 
regulations,  and  other  important  matters,  might  be  neces- 
sary to  the  common  interest  and  permanent  harmony  of 
the  several  states ;  and  to  report  such  an  act  on  the  subject, 
as,  when  ratified  by  them,  would  enable  the  United  States 
in  congress  assembled  effectually  to  provide  for  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  union.' 

"  That  appointments  of  commissioners  have  also  been 
made  by  the  states  of  New-Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  and  North  Carolina,  none  of  whom,  how- 
ever, have  attended.  But  that  no  information  has  been 
received  by  your  commissioners  of  any  appointment  hav- 
ing been  made  by  the  states  of  Connecticut,  Maryland, 
South  Carolina,  or  Georgia.  That  the  express  terms  of 
the  powers  to  your  commissioners  supposing  a  deputation 
from  all  the  states,  and  having  for  their  object  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  the  United  States,  your  commissioners  did 
not  conceive  it  advisable  to  proceed  to  the  business  of  their 
mission  under  the  circumstance  of  so  partial  and  defective 
a  representation. 

48 


378  THE    LIFE    OP 

"  Deeply  impressed,  however,  with  the  magnitude  and 
importance  of  the  object  confided  to  them  on  this  occasion, 
your  commissioners  cannot  forbear  to  indulge  an  expres- 
sion of  their  earnest  and  unanimous  wish  that  speedy  meas- 
ures may  be  taken  to  effect  a  general  meeting  of  the  states 
in  a  future  convention  for  the  same,  and  such  other  pur- 
poses, as  the  situation  of  public  affairs  may  be  found  to 
require. 

"  If  in  expressing  this  wish,  or  intimating  any  other  senti- 
ment, your  commissioners  should  seem  to  exceed  the  strict 
bounds  of  their  appointment,  they  entertain  a  full  confi- 
dence that  a  conduct  dictated  by  an  anxiety  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  United  States  will  not  fail  to  receive  a  favour- 
able construction.  In  this  persuasion,  your  commissioners 
submit  an  opinion  that  the  idea  of  extending  the  powers 
of  their  deputies  to  other  objects  than  those  of  commerce, 
which  had  been  adopted  by  the  state  of  New-Jersey,  was 
an  improvement  on  the  original  plan,  and  will  deserve  to 
be  incorporated  into  that  of  a  future  convention.  They 
are  the  more  naturally  led  to  this  conclusion,  as,  in  the 
course  of  their  reflections  on  the  subject,  they  have  been 
induced  to  think  that  the  power  of  regulating  trade  is  of 
such  comprehensive  extent,  and  will  enter  so  far  into  the 
general  system  of  the  federal  government,  that  to  give  it 
efficacy,  and  to  obviate  questions  and  doubts  concerning 
its  precise  nature  and  limits,  may  require  a  correspondent 
adjustment  of  other  parts  of  the  federal  system.  That 
there  are  important  defects  in  the  system  of  the  federal 
government,  is  acknowledged  by  the  acts  of  all  those  states 
which  have  concurred  in  the  present  meeting;  that  the 
defects,  upon  a  closer  examination,  may  be  found  greater 
and  more  numerous  than  even  these  acts  imply,  is  at 
least  so  far  probable,  from  the  embarrassments  which 
characterize  the  present  state  of  our  national  affairs 
foreign  and  domestic,  as  may  reasonably  be  supposed 


HAMILTON.  379 

to  merit  a  deliberate  and  candid  discussion  in  some 
mode  which  will  unite  the  sentiments  and  councils  of  all 
the  states. 

"  In  the  choice  of  the  mode,  your  commissioners  are  of 
the  opinion  that  a  CONVENTION  of  deputies  from  the  differ- 
ent states  for  the  special  and  sole  purpose  of  entering  into 
this  investigation,  and  digesting  a  plan  of  supplying  such 
defects  as  may  be  discovered  to  exist,  will  be  entitled  to  a 
preference,  from  considerations  which  will  occur  without 
being  particularized.  Your  commissioners  decline  an  enu- 
meration of  those  national  circumstances  on  which  their 
opinion  respecting  the  propriety  of  a  future  convention 
with  those  enlarged  powers  is  founded,  as  it  would  be  an 
intrusion  of  facts  and  observations,  most  of  which  have 
been  frequently  the  subject  of  public  discussion,  and  none 
of  which  can  have  escaped  the  penetration  of  those  to 
whom  they  would  in  this  instance  be  addressed. 

"  They  are,  however,  of  a  nature  so  serious,  as,  in  the  view 
of  your  commissioners,  to  render  the  situation  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  delicate  and  critical,  calling  for  an  exertion  of 
the  united  virtue  and  wisdom  of  all  the  members  of  the 
confederacy.  Under  this  impression,  your  commissioners 
with  the  most  respectful  deference  beg  leave  to  suggest 
their  unanimous  conviction,  that  it  may  effectually  tend  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  union,  if  the  states  by  which 
they  have  been  respectively  delegated  would  concur  them- 
selves, and  use  their  endeavours  to  procure  the  concur- 
rence of  the  other  states,  in  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners to  meet  at  Philadelphia  on  the  second  Monday  in 
May  next,  to  take  into  consideration  the  situation  of  the 
United  States,  to  devise  such  further  provisions  as  shall 
appear  to  them  necessary  to  render  the  constitution  of  the 
federal  government  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  union, 
and  to  report  such  an  act  for  that  purpose  to  the  United 
States  in  congress  assembled,  as,  when  agreed  to  by  them 


380  THE    LIFE    OP 

and  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  legislature  of  every  state, 
will  effectually  provide  for  the  same. 

M  Though  your  commissioners  could  not  with  propriety 
address  these  observations  and  sentiments  to  any  but  the 
states  they  have  the  honour  to  represent,  they  have  nev- 
ertheless concluded,  from  motives  of  respect,  to  transmit 
copies  of  this  report  to  the  United  States  in  congress  as- 
sembled, and  to  the  executives  of  the  other  states. 

"  Annapolis,  September  14th,  1786." 


HAMILTON.  381 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

[1786.] 

IT  has  been  seen  that  the  conferring  on  congress  the 
power  of  levying  a  national  impost,  was  the  great  dividing 
question  on  which  the  two  parties  that  existed  in  America 
were  arrayed.  By  the  friends  of  a  general  and  enlarged 
policy,  or,  as  they  were  then  styled,  of  "  continental  poli- 
tics," this  measure  was  regarded  as  one  involving  the  fate 
of  the  country,  for  without  such  a  power  it  was  obvious 
that  the  confederation,  feeble  and  inadequate  as  it  had 
proved,  could  not  be  longer  preserved.  Its  opponents 
were  those  who  had  coalesced,  either  from  disappointment 
in  not  having  acquired  an  influence  in  the  general  councils, 
from  a  desire  to  retain  powers  in  the  states  that  might  be 
wielded  for  the  gratification  of  their  ambition,  from  an  un- 
defined or  pretended  apprehension  of  the  dangers  to  their  lib- 
erties which  might  result  from  so  large  a  confidence  as  t«he 
control  of  the  national  funds,  and  in  certain  states  from  a 
calculation  of  the  partial  benefits  to  be  derived  from  peculiar 
circumstances  of  more  extensive  territory,  favourable  posi- 
tion, and  natural  advantages.  These  lent  themselves  to  the 
most  absurd  suspicions,  deprecated  any  advance  towards 
this  great  object  as  an  approach  to  a  gulf  in  which  every 
vestige  of  liberty  would  be  merged,  and  appealing  to  each 
narrow  passion,  the  offspring  of  inconsiderateness,  igno- 
rance, or  pride,  gratified  their  vanity,  and  increased  their 
influence,  by  being  esteemed  the  zealous  watchmen  of  lib- 
erty, and  especial  guardians  of  state  rights.  This  party 
was  the  proper  growth  of  the  articles  of  confederation. 


382  THE    LIFE    OF 

It  had  acquired  a  complete  ascendency  throughout  the 
country,  thus  affording  another  proof  that  false  principles, 
while  they  hasten  decay  in  the  system  into  which  they  en- 
ter, give  a  noxious  vitality  to  the  parasitic  plants  which 
flourish  in  the  progress  of  its  corruption. 

That  ascendency  was  inconsistent  with  the  preservation 
of  the  union ;  nor  should  we  know  from  its  effects  at  this 
time  that  the  union  existed,  but  that  the  pageantry  of  a 
congress  was  still  kept  up.  The  members  chosen  to  meet 
in  November,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  did  not 
assemble  until  February,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-six. 
Their  first  deliberations  related  to  the  finances.  The  re- 
port of  a  committee  showed  that  the  requisitions  for  the 
four  preceding  years  a  little  exceeded  seven  millions  of 
dollars  ;  that  the  total  receipts  were  rather  more  than  one- 
third  of  this  sum,  of  which  less  than  one-tenth  had  been 
collected  within  the  last  fourteen  months  ;  that  the  means 
for  discharging  the  interest  on  the  foreign  debt  would  have 
been  inadequate,  but  for  the  unappropriated  residue  of  the 
Dutch  loan  ;  that  further  loans  could  not  be  obtained ; 
that  the  emission  of  bills  of  credit  was  hopeless ;  that  the 
only  remaining  resource  was  the  public  lands — but  public 
securities  being  receivable  for  them,  they  could  only  aid 
in  reducing  the  public  debt ;  and  that,  after  the  maturest 
consideration,  they  were  unable  to  devise  any  other  than 
the  revenue  system  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three. 
It  then  proceeded  to  state,  that  seven  states  had  complied 
with  it  in  part ;  that  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  had  only 
granted  it  provisionally,  and  that  Rhode  Island,  New- York, 
Maryland,  and  Georgia,  had  not  decided  in  favour  of  any 
part  of  a  system  "  so  long  since  and  so  repeatedly  presented 
for  their  adoption."  It  closed  with  the  following  impres- 
sive appeal : — "  The  committee  observe  with  great  concern 
that  the  security  of  the  navigation  and  commerce  of  the 
citizens  of  these  states  from  the  Barbary  powers  ;  the  pro- 


HAMILTON.  383 

tection  of  the  frontier  inhabitants  from  the  savages ;  the 
immediate  establishment  of  military  magazines  in  different 
parts  of  the  union,  rendered  indispensable  by  the  principles 
of  public  safety ;  the  maintenance  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment at  home,  and  the  support  of  the  public  servants 
abroad ; — each  and  all  depend  upon  the  contributions  of  the 
states  under  the  annual  requisitions  of  congress.  The 
moneys  essentially  necessary  for  these  important  objects  will 
so  far  exceed  the  sums  formerly  collected  from  the  states 
by  taxes,  that  no  hope  can  be  indulged  of  being  able  from 
that  source  to  make  any  remittances  for  the  discharge  of 
foreign  engagements. 

"  Thus  circumstanced,  after  the  most  solemn  deliberation, 
and  under  the  fullest  conviction  that  the  public  embarrass- 
ments are  such  as  above  represented,  and  that  they  are 
daily  increasing,  the  committee  are  of  opinion  that  it  has 
become  the  duty  of  congress  to  declare  most  explicitly, 
that  the  crisis  has  arrived  when  the  people  of  these  United 
States,  by  whose  will  and  for  whose  benefit  the  federal 
government  was  instituted,  must  decide  whether  they  will 
support  their  rank  as  a  nation  by  maintaining  the  public 
faith  at  home  and  abroad,  or  whether,  for  want  of  timely 
exertion  in  establishing  a  general  revenue,  and  thereby 
giving  strength  to  the  confederacy,  they  will  hazard,  not 
only  the  existence  of  the  union,  but  of  those  great  and  in- 
valuable privileges  for  which  they  have  so  arduously  and 
so  honourably  contended." 

This  strong  language  was  followed  by  resolutions,  in 
which,  to  efface  the  erroneous  impressions  produced  by 
Jefferson's  scheme  of  counterbalancing  deficiencies,  and 
"  in  order  that  congress  may  remain  wholly  acquitted  from 
every  imputation  of  a  want  of  attention  to  the  interests 
and  welfare  of  those  whom  they  represent,"  they  declare — 
First,  that  the  requisitions  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-four  and  eighty-five,  cannot  be  considered  as  the 


384  THE    LIFE    OP 

establishment  of  a  system  of  general  revenue  in  opposition 
to  that  recommended  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  ;  second,  they  recommend  to  the  delinquent  states 
an  accession  to  that  system  in  all  its  parts ;  and  last,  pro- 
claim, that  whilst  congress  are  denied  the  means  of  satis- 
fying those  engagements  which  they  have  constitutionally 
entered  into  for  the  common  benefit  of  the  union,  they 
hold  it  their  duty  to  warn  their  constituents  that  the  most 
fatal  evils  will  inevitably  flow  from  a  breach  of  public 
faith  pledged  by  solemn  contract,  and  a  violation  of  those 
principles  of  justice  which  are  the  only  solid  basis  of  the 
honour  and  prosperity  of  nations."* 

Although  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  had  not  complied 
strictly  with  the  system  of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
three,  it  became  apparent  that  the  non-concurrence  of 
New- York  was  the  only  serious  obstacle  to  its  establishment. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  public  attention  in  that 
state  was  wholly  devoted  to  this  subject. 

A  strong  memorial  to  the  legislature  from  the  pen  of 
Hamilton  was  widely  circulated.  It  stated,  "that  the 
community  had  seen  with  peculiar  regret  the  delay  which 
had  hitherto  attended  the  adoption  of  the  revenue  system  ; 
that  the  anxiety  which  they  had  all  along  felt  from  mo- 
tives of  a  more  general  nature,  is  at  the  present  juncture 
increased  by  this  particular  consideration,  that  the  state  of 
New- York  now  stands  almost  alone,  in  a  non-compliance  with 
a  measure  in  which  the  sentiments  and  wishes  of  the  union 
at  large  appear  to  unite,  and  by  a  further  delay  may  ren- 
der itself  responsible  for  consequences  too  serious  not  to 
affect  every  considerate  man ;  that  all  the  considerations 
important  to  a  state,  all  the  motives  of  public  honour,  faith, 
reputation,  interest,  and  safety,  conspire  to  urge  a  compli- 


*  R.  King  was  chairman  of  this  committee,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  was 
the  author  of  this  important  document. 


HAMILTON.  385 

ance  with  that  measure — that  government  without  reve- 
nue cannot  subsist — that  the  mode  provided  in  the  con- 
federation for  supplying  the  treasury  of  the  United  States 
has  in  experiment  been  found  inadequate — that  any  objec- 
tion to  it  as  a  measure  not  warranted  by  the  confederation 
is  refuted  by  the  thirteenth  article,  which  provides  that 
alterations  may  be  made,  if  agreed  to  by  congress  and 
confirmed  by  the  legislatures  of  each  state  ;  and  the  con- 
duct of  this  state  itself  in  adopting  the  proposed  change 
of  the  eighth  article  is  a  precedent  in  which  we  find  the 
principle  reduced  to  practice,  and  affords  a  complete  an- 
swer to  every  pretence  of  the  revenue  system  being  un- 
constitutional. That  as  to  danger  in  vesting  the  United 
States  with  these  funds,  your  memorialists  consider  their 
interests  and  liberties  as  not  less  safe  in  the  hands  of  their 
fellow-citizens  delegated  to  represent  them  for  one  year  in 
congress,  than  in  the  hands  of  their  fellow-citizens  dele- 
gated to  represent  them  for  one,  or  four  years,  in  the  sen- 
ate and  assembly  of  this  state" — "  That  government  implies 
trust,  and  every  government  must  be  trusted  so  far  as  it  is 
necessary  to  enable  it  to  attain  the  ends  for  which  it  is  in- 
stituted, without  which  must  result  insult  and  oppression 
from  abroad,  confusion  and  convulsion  at  home." 

The  public  men  throughout  the  state  took  an  open  stand 
on  this  question  ;  the  newspapers  were  filled  with  discus- 
sions of  its  merits,*  and  the  elections  turned  solely  on  this 
point. 

The  head  of  the  opposition  was  the  governor,  whose  in- 
fluence, after  an  administration  of  nine  years,  had  become 
almost  irresistible.  In  the  southern  district,  though  opposed 
by  the  commercial  members  of  the  community,  whose 


*  The  most  noticed  of  the  writings  against  the  grant  of  the  impost,  were 
a  series  of  numbers  signed  "  Rough  Hewer,"  of  which  the  author  was  Abra- 
ham Yates,  a  member  of  the  legislature  and  a  zealous  partisan  of  Clinton. 

49 


386  THE    LIFE    OP 

hopes  had  centred  upon  Hamilton  ;  Clinton  was  supported 
by  a  combination  of  interests — by  the  most  violent  of  the 
whigs,  and  the  most  violent  of  the  tories,  who  had  become 
zealous  whigs.  In  the  interior  of  the  state  his  ascendency 
was  limited  only  by  the  opposition  of  a  few  intelligent  men 
on  the  eastern  borders  of  the  Hudson,  guided  by  Chancel- 
lor Livingston,  and  by  the  active  and  unceasing  exertions 
of  General  Schuyler  in  the  northern  and  western  districts, 
where  he  was  yet  recollected  as  their  most  energetic  pro- 
tector and  enlightened  friend. 

To  judge  merely  from  the  official  communications  of 
Clinton,  the  inference  would  be  drawn,  that  though  not  a 
zealous  champion,  he  was  a  decided  friend  to  the  federal 
system ;  but  the  measures  which  marked  the  policy  of  the 
state,  and  which  were  directed  by  him,  indicated  very  dif- 
ferent purposes. 

In  pursuance  of  the  recommendation  of  congress,  New- 
York,  on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-one,  passed  an  act  which,  after  granting  the  duties 
to  that  body,  provided,  "  that  they  should  be  levied  and 
collected  in  such  manner  and  form,  and  under  such  pains, 
penalties,  and  regulations,  and  by  such  officers,  as  con- 
gress should  from  time  to  time  make,  order,  direct,  and 
appoint." 

Soon,  however,  after  the  indications  of  peace,  the  policy 
of  the  state  changed.  The  act  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-one  was  repealed,  and  on  the  fifteenth  March, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  a  law  was  enacted 
granting  the  duties;  but  departing  from  the  principles 
which  had  prompted  this  measure  at  its  inception,  and 
which  prevailed  during  a  period  of  danger,  directed  them 
to  be  collected  by  the  officers  and  under  t/ie  authority  of  the 
state.  This  law,  combined  with  other  circumstances,  in- 
duced congress  to  recommend  the  system  that  was  adopted 
on  the  eighteenth  of  March,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 


HAMILTON.  387 

three,  which  yielded  the  appointment  of  the  revenue  offi- 
cers to  the  states,  but  rendered  them  amenable  to,  and 
removable  by,  the  United  States*  alone. 

Early  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  a 
motion  was  made  in  the  legislature  of  New- York,  urging 
the  abolition  of  the  officers  of  superintendent  of  finance 
and  of  continental  receiver,  which  was  followed  by  the 
acts  establishing  a  customhouse  and  a  revenue  system. 

The  immense  and  improvident  speculations  made  on  the 
return  of  peace,  poured  into  the  coffers  of  that  state  a 
large  revenue.  This  was  subsequently  increased  by  the 
navigation  acts  of  other  states,  which  rendered  New- York 
the  entrepot  of  the  whole  region  east  of  the  Delaware,  and 
presented  'to  her  tempting  prospects  of  future  wealth. 
Blinded  by  these  adventitious  circumstances  to  the  supe- 
rior advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  general  prosperity 
of  the  whole  union,  the  idea  of  state  aggrandizement 
engrossed  the  thoughts  of  Clinton,  who,  had  the  desire 
of  establishing  a  separate  government  ever  conflicted  in 
his  mind  with  a  more  comprehensive  patriotism,  would 
have  regarded  this  as  the  great  source  of  influence  and 
power. 

To  whatever  cause  it  may  be  attributed,  it  became  the 
settled  policy  of  New- York  to  defeat  the  proposition  for  a 
national  revenue.  A  measure  conforming  with  the  recom- 
mendation of  congress  was  proposed  in  the  legislature  in 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  and  failed.  It  was 


»  In  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  Schuyler  remarks,  May  4th,  1783  :  "  Although 
our  legislature  seems  still  inclined  to  confer  powers  on  congress  adequate  to 
the  proper  discharge  of  the  great  duties  of  the  sovereign  council  of  these 
states,  yet  I  perceive  with  pain  that  some,  chagrined  at  disappointment,  are 
already  attempting  to  inculcate  a  contrary  principle,  and  I  fear  it  will  gain 
too  deep  a  root  to  be  eradicated,  until  such  confusion  prevails  as  will  make 
men  deeply  feel  the  necessity  of  not  retaining  so  much  sovereignty  in  the 
states  individually." 


388  THE    LIFE    OF 

again  brought  forward  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
five,  and  again  failed  by  two  votes  in  the  senate. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  of  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-six,  in  which  the  exertions  of  Schuyler  to  induce 
the  grant  were  most  conspicuous,  a  law  was  enacted  giv- 
ing the  revenue  to  congress,  but  reserving  to  the  state  "  the 
sole  power  of  levying  and  collecting  "  the  duties  ;  the  con- 
ferring of  which  power  on  congress,  was  an  indispensable 
and  express  condition  of  the  acts  of  some  of  the  other 
states.  Instead  of  making  the  collectors  amenable,  and 
removable  by  congress,  it  subjected  them  to  the  exclusive 
jurisdiction  of  the  state  courts. 

It  also  rendered  the  duties  payable  in  the  bills  of  credit 
of  the  state,  and  thus  so  entirely  contravened  the  plan  of 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  as  to  be  equivalent  to  its 
rejection.  This  enactment  was  defended  by  the  argument 
that  congress,  being  a  single  body,  and  consequently  without 
checks,  would  be  apt  to  misapply  the  money  arising  from  it. 

All  hope  had,  in  the  mean  time,  centred  in  this  question  ; 
and  palsied  for  the  want  of  resources,  congress  is  seen  de- 
bating Indian  treaties,  consulting  measures  to  suppress  their 
hostilities,  discussing  the  inquiry  whether  a  member  could, 
without  permission  from  that  body  or  from  his  state  with- 
draw from  his  seat,  and  suspending  all  action,  waiting  the 
decision  of  New- York.* 


*  The  confederation  required  nine  states  to  form  a  quorum  for  every  es- 
sential purpose.  Each  state  had  one  vote — no  state  could  be  represented  by 
less  than  two  members.  The  withdrawal  therefore  of  a  member  could  sus- 
pend its  functions,  and  yet  New-York,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  affirmed  the 
absolute  right  to  withdraw,  and  New-Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecti- 
cut, and  Georgia  were  divided.  For  the  right — William  Grayson,  John 
Haring,  Harrison,  Henry,  Hindman,  Houston,  Livermore,  Miller,  Mitchell, 
James  Monroe,  Melancton  Smith ;  against  it — Bayard,  Bloodworth,  Dane, 
Few,  N.  Gorham,  Hornblower,  Dl.  Huger,  William  Samuel  Johnston,  Ru- 
fus  King,  Lee,  Long,  Manning,  Parker,  Petit,  Charles  Pinckney,  Sedg. 
wick,  Symmes,  White. 


HAMILTON.  389 

Perceiving  that  no  benefit  could  be  derived  from  the 
law  recently  passed  by  this  state  ;  that  if  acceded  to,  the 
acts  of  twelve  adopting  states  (for  Rhode  Island  had 
meanwhile  concurred)  would,  by  their  conditions,  which 
required  the  concurrence  of  all  the  states,  become  void ; 
that  the  provision  which  rendered  the  duties  payable  in 
bills  of  credit  was  most  pernicious,  as  it  would,  on  the  same 
principle,  admit  all  the  paper  money  of  the  other  states  at 
various  rates  of  depreciation,  thus  reducing  the  revenue, 
producing  an  inequality  in  the  public  burdens,  and  deter- 
ring the  states  averse  from  paper  money  from  engaging  in 
the  measure — congress  treated  it  as  a  nullity. 

Feeling  deeply  their  humiliating  condition  in  being  una- 
ble to  meet  the  claims  of  foreigners  who  had  advanced 
money  to  prosecute  the  war,  and  to  discharge  the  inter- 
est on  the  foreign  debt  without  new  loans  in  Europe, 
and  thereby  compounding  it,  they  passed  a  resolution 
requesting  Governor  Clinton  to  convene  the  legislature 
for  the  purpose  of  submitting  this  subject  again  to  its 
consideration.  To  this  application,  involving  such  mo- 
mentous consequences,  Clinton  replied  by  letter,  stating 
that  "  he  entertained  the  highest  deference  and  respect  for 
the  authority  of  congress,  and  that  it  would  afford  him  the 
greatest  pleasure  to  have  it  in  his  power  to  comply  with 
their  recommendations,  but  that  he  had  not  the  power  to 
convene  the  legislature  before  the  time  fixed  by  law  for 
their  stated  meeting,  except  upon  *  extraordinary  occasions] 
and  as  the  present  business  had  already  been  particularly 
laid  before  them,  and  so  recently  as  at  their  last  session 
received  their  determination,  it  cannot  come  within  that 
description." 

Soon  after  receiving  this  communication,  congress  then 
sitting  at  New-York,  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions,  de- 
claring that  the  act  of  New- York  was  not  a  compliance 
with  the  general  plan.  "That  the  present  critical  and  em- 


390  THE    LIFE    OF 

barrassed  state  of  the  finances  was  such  as  to  require  that 
the  system  of  impost  should  be  carried  into  immediate 
effect ;  that  they  consider  this  « an  occasion  sufficiently  im- 
portant and  extraordinary'  for  the  convening  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  '  earnestly'  recommend  that  it  should  be  '  immedi- 
ately* called."  Clinton  was  immovable.  This  earnest  and 
solemn  appeal  of  the  confederacy  was  disregarded,  and  the 
hope  of  establishing  a  general  revenue  was  almost  aban- 
doned. 

While  the  dignity  of  the  nation  was  thus  prostrated  be- 
fore the  executive  of  a  single  state,  difficulties,  the  conse- 
quences of  recent  example,  were  pending  with  several 
others.  New-Jersey,  wearied  with  fruitless  efforts  to  in- 
culcate the  benefits  of  a  national  system,  and  jealous  of  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  New- York,  early  in  this  year 
had  resorted  to  decisive  measures.  She  passed  a  resolution 
(reciting  as  a  reason  for  it  the  delinquency  of  other  states) 
by  which  she  refused  a  compliance  with  the  requisition  of 
congress  for  her  quota,  "  until  all  the  states  in  the  union 
had  complied  with  the  revenue  system  of  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three,  or  until  states  having  peculiar  com- 
mercial advantages  should  forbear  a  system  of  partial  le- 
gislation." This  formidable  decision  alarmed  the  nation, 
and  demanded  the  immediate  attention  of  congress,  who 
sent  a  deputation  to  remonstrate  with  that  state.  After  an 
able  address  from  each  of  the  delegates,  showing  the  ne- 
cessity of  union  to  the  general  happiness  of  all  its  mem- 
bers, but  especially  to  the  smaller  states,  the  legislature 
rescinded  their  resolution,  but  declared  that  the  requisition 
had  no  binding  force. 

Pennsylvania  claimed  a  set-off  against  part  of  her  quota, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  her  legisla- 
ture. A  similar  claim  was,  after  much  debate,  conceded 
to  South  Carolina.  Another  committee  was  directed  to 
repair  to  Connecticut,  New-Jersey,  and  North  Carolina, 


HAMILTON.  391 

and  an  address  was  made  to  New-Hampshire  and  Mary- 
land, urging  upon  them  a  full  and  immediate  compliance 
with  the  last  requisition.  Was  this  a  government  ? 

These  obstacles  indicated  the  necessity  of  an  adjustment 
of  accounts  with  the  several  states,  and  an  ordinance  was 
framed  for  that  purpose.  Another  ordinance  before  re- 
commended was  passed,  of  much  prospective  importance. 
It  was  for  the  establishment  of  a  mint ;  the  standard  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  the  money  of  account  in  a  decimal  ra- 
tio, having  been  previously  fixed. 

While  congress  were  thus  engaged,  the  insurrection  of 
Massachusetts  broke  upon  them.  After  much  delay,  they, 
in  secret  session,  made  a  report  strongly  indicative  of  their 
feebleness  and  their  fears.  Having  stated  that  unless  speedy 
and  effectual  measures  were  taken  to  suppress  the  designs 
of  the  insurgents,  they  will  possess  themselves  of  the  arse- 
nal at  Springfield,  subvert  the  government,  and  not  only 
reduce  that  commonwealth  to  a  state  of  anarchy  and  con- 
fusion, but  probably  involve  the  United  States  in  the  ca- 
lamity of  a  civil  war;  it  declared  their  obligations  to 
restore  the  authority  of  the  state,  and  to  protect  the  public 
property,  and  that  for  these  purposes  a  body  of  troops 
should  be  immediately  raised,  but  that  the  causes  of  raising 
them  ought  not  to  be  publicly  assigned,  and  that  they  had, 
in  a  separate  report,  on  the  intelligence  from  the  western 
country,  recommended  the  augmentation  of  the  troops  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States.  By  this  report  a  legion- 
ary corps  was  ordered  to  be  enlisted  for  three  years,  prin- 
cipally in  New-England. 

Thus  did  an  emergency,  which  every  government  should 
have  been  empowered  to  meet,  drive  congress  to  a  usurpa- 
tion upon  a  false  pretext ;  for  where  is  to  be  found  the 
authority  in  the  articles  of  the  confederation  to  raise  a 
military  force  for  such  a  purpose,  and  what  was  there  to  pre- 
vent an  increase  of  its  number,  and  its  permanent  existence  ? 


392  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  only  security  against  this  usurpation  of  power  was 
the  want  of  means ;  but  this  want  involved  the  very  dan- 
ger, for,  while  acting  upon  the  necessity  of  the  measure, 
congress  declared,  "  that  in  the  present  embarrassments  of 
the  federal  finances,  they  would  not  hazard  the  perilous 
step  of  putting  arms  into  the  hands  of  men,  whose  fidelity 
must  in  some  degree  depend  on  the  faithful  payment  of 
their  wages,  had  they  not  the  fullest  confidence,  from  au- 
thentic and  respectable  information,  in  the  most  liberal 
exertions  of  the  money-holders  in  the  state  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  other  states,  in  filling  the  loans  authorized" 
for  that  purpose. 

The  suppression  of  the  insurrection  by  he/  own  militia, 
leaves  it  only  a  subject  for  speculation  what  would  have 
been  the  consequences  of  an  invasion,  by  the  confederacy, 
of  so  populous,  so  warlike,  and  then  so  jealous  a  state. 

The  friends  of  the  union  in  New- York  had  in  the  mean 
time  determined  to  make  another  and  a  final  effort.  The 
popularity  of  Hamilton,  it  was  hoped,  might  have  influence  ; 
and  while  General  Schuyler  was  brought  forward  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  senate,  Hamilton  was  put  in  nomination  for 
the  assembly.  His  election  was  earnestly  opposed — op- 
posed by  the  men  whose  cupidity  he  had  exposed  in  seven- 
teen hundred  and  eighty-four,  and  who,  identified  with  the 
state  policy  of  Clinton,  as  leaders  of  the  democratic  party, 
regarded  him  as  a  formidable  adversary  to  their  narrow 
and  selfish  politics.  But  serious  apprehensions  had  seized 
the  community  as  to  the  future.  They  saw  in  the  discords 
and  the  weakness  of  the  confederacy  the  fulfilment  of  all 
his  prophecies,  and  they  looked  to  him  as  their  last  hope 
of  changing  the  vicious  direction  which  had  been  given  to 
the  councils  of  the  state.  He  was  elected.* 


*  On  the  eve  of  this  election  a  letter  was  received  by  him  from  a  tory  mer- 
chant, asking  his  influence  to  obtain  legislative  relief.     In  his  reply  he  states, 


HAMILTON.  393 

The  legislature  opened  its  session  in  January,  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-seven,  at  the  city  of  New- York.  The 
speech  from  the  governor,  after  alluding  to  the  annual  ap- 
pointment of  state  officers,  from  which  so  large  a  share  of 
his  influence  was  derived,  adverted  to  the  requisitions  for 
the  service  of  the  year,  and  stated  his  confidence  that  the 
dispositions  of  the  legislature  being  truly  federal,  would  in- 
duce a  speedy  compliance  with  a  measure  so  essential  to 
the  national  support  and  credit.  The  representatives  were 
informed  of  the  resolutions  of  congress,  expressing  their 
sense  of  the  act  granting  the  impost,  and  requesting  an  im- 
mediate call  of  the  legislature,  whereby  the  revenue  system 
of  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three  would  be  brought 
to  their  view — "  a  subject  which  had  been  repeatedly  sub- 
mitted to  them,  and  must  be  well  understood." 

The  correspondence  which  had  recently  passed  on  that 
subject  was  laid  before  them,  with  a  declaration,  "  that  a 
regard  to  their  excellent  constitution,  and  an  anxiety  to 
preserve  unimpaired  the  right  of  free  deliberation  in  mat- 
ters not  stipulated  by  the  confederation,  had  restrained 
him  from  convening  them  at  an  earlier  period."  The  ad- 

"  that  he  would  not  be  understood  to  declare  any  opinion  concerning  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  bill ;"  and  remarks,  "  I  make  this  observation  from  that  spirit  of 
candour  which  I  hope  will  always  direct  my  conduct.  I  am  aware  that  I  have 
been  represented  as  an  enemy  to  the  wishes  of  what  you  call  your  corps.  If 
by  this  is  meant  that  I  do  not  feel  as  much  as  any  man  not  immediately  in- 
terested for  the  distresses  of  those  merchants  who  have  been  in  a  great  meas- 
ure the  victims  of  the  revolution,  the  supposition  does  not  do  justice  either  to 
my  head  or  my  heart.  But  if  it  means  that  I  have  always  viewed  the  mode 
of  relieving  them  as  a  matter  of  peculiar  delicacy  and  difficulty,  it  is  well 
founded. 

"  I  should  have  thought  it  unnecessary  to  enter  into  this  explanation,  were  it 
not  that  I  am  held  up  as  a  candidate  at  the  ensuing  election,  and  would  not 
wish  that  the  step  I  have  taken  in  respect  to  your  letter  should  be  considered 
as  implying  more  than  it  does,  for  I  would  never  wish  to  conciliate  at  the  ex- 
pense of  candour  ;  on  the  other  hand,  I  confide  in  your  liberality  not  to  infer 
more  than  I  intend  from  the  explanation  I  have  given  you." 

50 


394  THE    LIFE    OF 

justment  of  the  territorial  controversies  with  Massachusetts 
and  Pennsylvania  was  mentioned,  and  the  speech  concluded 
by  calling  the  attention  of  the  legislature  to  local  topics. 

The  address  in  reply  to  the  speech  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Hamilton  was  a  member,  and  was  reported 
by  him.  It  was  a  mere  echo  of  the  speech  on  all  subjects, 
except  as  to  the  request  of  congress  to  convene  the  legis- 
lature, which  was  passed  by  in  silence.  On  being  reported 
to  the  house,  a  motion  was  made  by  the  speaker  to  amend 
it,  by  expressing  their  approbation  of  the  governor's  con- 
duct in  not  convening  the  legislature  at  an  earlier  period 
than  that  fixed  by  law ;  he  at  the  same  time  disclaiming 
all  hostility  to  the  impost.  This  motion  produced  the  effect 
which  had  been  sought  to  be  avoided,  and  called  up  a  long 
and  vehement  debate.  While  the  friends  of  the  union 
expressed  in  general  terms  a  dissent  from  the  views  of  the 
governor,  feeling  themselves  in  a  minority,  they  sedulously 
endeavoured  to  prevent  all  discussion  of  this  topic,  seeing 
that  it  had  been  thrown  in  as  an  apple  of  discord  ;  but  the 
friends  of  the  governor,  who  were  guided  with  an  adroit 
and  subtle  policy,  seized  upon  this  occasion  to  kindle  an 
excitement,  and  to  rouse  all  the  hostile  feelings  of  the 
states  rights  party. 

The  speaker  then  proposed  to  withdraw  the  motion,  but 
it  was  insisted  that  it  could  not  be  withdrawn.  That  no 
ill  consequences  could  arise  from  a  decision  ;  that  it  was 
only  a  question  whether  there  was  such  a  pressing  neces- 
sity as  to  authorize  the  governor  to  convene  the  legisla- 
ture. That  if  the  doctrine  that  the  governor  was  bound 
to  comply  with  a  requisition  of  congress  on  this  subject 
was  sustained,  it  was  impossible  to  tell  where  it  would  end. 
That  congress  might,  by  repeated  requisitions,  perhaps  once 
a  month,  tease  and  weary  the  legislature  into  a  compliance 
with  their  measures ;  an  apprehension  not  exaggerated, 
for  such  had  been  the  practice  of  the  former  government. 


HAMILTON.  395 

Several  propositions  were  made  to  get  rid  of  the  motion 
for  an  amendment,  and  it  was  at  last  agreed  that  the  com- 
mittee should  rise  and  report ;  Colonel  Hamilton  stating, 
"  that  he  would  reserve  himself  on  this  subject  until  it  came 
again  before  them,  when  he  hoped  to  be  enabled  to  offer 
such  arguments  as  would  strike  with  conviction  the  candid 
part  of  the  house." 

This  question  was  brought  forward  on  the  nineteenth 
of  January,  when  an  amendment  was  proposed  by  General 
Malcolm,  as  a  substitute  for  that  of  the  speaker,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  avoid  a  direct  expression  of- opinion  as  to 
the  governor's  conduct,  and  to  place  his  justification  on  the 
ground  of  the  extraordinary  expense  an  extra  session 
would  have  produced.  This  amendment  was  resisted  with 
great  ingenuity  and  art.  An  attempt  was  made  to  show  that 
silence  would  be  in  effect  a  censure  upon  the  governor, 
while  approbation  of  his  conduct  did  not  necessarily  re- 
flect upon  that  of  congress, — that  this  motion  was  in 
reality  an  attempt  to  debar  them  from  the  right  of  de- 
claring their  sentiments ;  and  the  house  was  asked  whether, 
if  it  was  necessary,  they  were  afraid  to  justify  their  gov- 
ernor ? 

A  comparison  was  drawn  between  the  former  and 
present  government,  and  an  absurd  analogy  sought  to  be 
shown  to  the  attempt  of  the  British  government  to  levy 
ship-money,  which  was  finally  and  effectually  resisted  by 
the  English  commons.  It  was  contended  that  if  to  the 
right  of  making  peace  and  war,  of  raising  fleets  and  armies, 
was  superadded  that  of  convening  at  pleasure  the  state 
legislatures,  and  of  exercising  such  a  prerogative,  the  issue 
no  man  could  foretell ; — that  congress  was  an  irresponsible 
body,  and  that  the  governor  was  accountable  to  the  state ; 
— that  this  was  not  the  "  extraordinary  occasion"  contem- 
plated by  the  constitution ;  and  as  they  were  now  ready 
to  approve  the  governor's  conduct,  they  should  have  been 


396  THE    LIFE    OP 

as  ready,  had  his  course  been  different,  to  have  cen- 
sured it. 

The  question  was  then  called  as  to  the  substitute,  when 
Hamilton,  who  had  previously  spoken  on  the  point  of  or- 
der, arose.  This  body  was,  with  few  exceptions,  composed 
of  respectable  individuals,  who  had  enjoyed  small  advan- 
tages of  education,  and  who  regarded  with  jealousy  all 
oratorical  embellishment.  Having  previously  felt  its  pulse, 
and  only  anxious  to  carry  this  great  measure,  on  the  right 
decision  of  which  such  vast  consequences  depended,  Ham- 
ilton conformed  his  effort  to  the  character  of  the  assembly, 
and  addressed  them  in  the  following  conciliatory  and  mod- 
erate tone.  After  a  few  preliminary  observations,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  remark  :* 

"  This  now  leads  us  to  examine  the  important  question 
presented  to  us  by  the  proposed  amendment.  For  my  own 
part,  I  have  seen  with  regret  the  progress  of  this  business, 
and  it  was  my  earnest  wish  to  have  avoided  the  present 
discussion.  I  saw  with  regret  the  first  application  of  con- 
gress to  the  governor,  because  it  was  easy  to  perceive 
that  it  involved  a  delicate  dilemma.  Either  the  governor, 
from  considerations  of  inconvenience,  might  refuse  to  call 
the  assembly,  which  would  derogate  from  the  respect  due 
to  congress ;  or  he  might  call  them,  and  by  being  brought 
together  at  an  unreasonable  period,  before  the  time  appoint- 
ed by  law  for  the  purpose,  they  would  meet  with  reluc- 
tance, and  perhaps  with  a  disposition  less  favourable  than 
might  be  wished  to  the  views  of  congress  themselves.  I 
saw  with  equal  regret  the  next  step  of  the  business.  If  a 
conference  had  been  desired  with  congress,  it  might  have 
been  had — circumstances  might  have  been  explained,  rea- 


*  All  of  these  speeches  are  reported  by  Childs,  the  reporter  of  the  debates 
in  the  New- York  convention.  They  are  very  imperfect,  and  generally  in  the 
language  the  reporter  would  himself  have  used. 


HAMILTON.  397 

sons  might  have  been  assigned  satisfactory  to  them  for  not 
calling  the  legislature.  The  affair  might  have  been  com- 
promised. But  instead  of  this,  the  governor  thought  pro- 
per to  answer  by  a  flat  denial,  founded  on  a  constitutional 
impediment,  and  an  idea  of  the  invasion  of  the  right  of  free 
deliberation  was  brought  into  view.  I  earnestly  wished 
the  matter  to  have  rested  here.  I  might  appeal  to  gentle- 
men in  this  house,  and  particularly  to  the  honourable  mem- 
ber who  is  so  zealous  in  support  of  the  amendment,  that 
before  the  speech  appeared,  I  discovered  a  solicitude  that 
by  passing  the  subject  over  in  silence,  it  might  not  give 
occasion  to  the  present  discussion.  It  however  came  be- 
fore us  in  a  form  very  different  from  that  which  I  should 
have  thought  advisable,  for  there  was  no  need  of  an  appeal 
to  the  legislature.  The  next  step  was  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  an  answer  to  the  speech.  It  fell  to  my  lot 
to  be  a  member  of  that  committee ;  my  object  still  was  to 
avoid  the  interference  of  this  house  in  a  matter  about  which 
there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  between  the  United 
States  and  the  governor  of  this  state  on  constitutional 
ground.  The  best  way  to  effect  this,  was  to  frame  the 
answer  in  the  most  general  terms.  This  was  done  ;  not  a 
word  is  said  even  about  the  revenue  system,  which  occa- 
sioned the  request  of  congress  to  convene  the  legislature. 
The  answer  is  generally,  that  the  house  will  take  into  con- 
sideration the  different  acts  of  congress,  and  make  such 
provisions  as  appear  to  them  compatible  with  the  abilities 
and  constitution  of  the  state.  By  not  touching  at  all  on 
the  topic  connected  with  the  origin  of  the  controversy,  I 
thought  we  might  safely  be  silent  without  any  implication 
of  censure  on  the  governor.  It  was  neither  my  wish  to 
condemn  nor  to  approve.  I  was  only  desirous  of  avoiding 
an  interference  in  a  constitutional  question,  which  belong- 
ed entirely  to  the  province  of  the  executive  authority  of 
the  state,  and  about  which  I  knew  there  would  be  a  differ- 


398  THE    LIFE    OF 

ence  of  opinion,  even  in  this  house.  I  submit  it  to  the 
house,  whether  this  was  not  a  prudent  course,  and  whether 
it  is  not  to  be  lamented  that  the  proposed  amendment 
forces  the  discussion  upon  us.  Constitutional  questions 
are  always  delicate ;  they  should  never  be  touched  but 
from  necessity. 

"  But  though  I  shall  be  readily  acquitted  of  having  had 
any  agency  in  bringing  the  house  into  this  disagreeable 
situation,  since  the  question  is  brought  forward,  I  shall 
with  freedom  meet  the  discussion.  This  my  duty  demands 
from  me ;  and  whoever  may  be  affected  by  it,  I  shall  pro- 
ceed under  an  impression  that  my  constituents  expect  from 
me  the  free  exercise  of  my  judgment,  and  the  free  decla- 
ration of  my  sentiments  on  the  matters  deliberated  upon  in 
this  house. 

"  The  question  by  the  honourable  member  on  my  right, 
has  been  wrongly  stated.  He  says  it  is  this — whether  a  re- 
quest of  congress  to  convene  the  legislature  is  conclusive 
upon  the  governor  of  the  state,  or  whether  a  bare  intima- 
tion of  that  honourable  body  lays  him  under  a  constitu- 
tional necessity  of  convening  the  legislature  ?  But  this  is 
not  the  true  question.  From  the  shape  in  which  the  busi- 
ness comes  before  us,  the  inquiry  truly  is — whether  a  sol- 
emn application  of  the  United  States  to  the  executive  of 
this  state  to  convene  the  legislature  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
liberating on  a  matter  which  is  considered  by  that  body  as 
of  essential  importance  to  the  nation,  and  which  has  been 
viewed  in  a  similar  light  by  most  of  the  other  states  indi- 
vidually, is  such  an  extraordinary  occasion  as  left  the  gov- 
ernor under  no  constitutional  impediment  to  a  compliance  ? 
and  it  may  be  added,  whether  that  application,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  was  an  attempt  to  invade  the  freedom 
of  deliberation  in  this  house  ? 

"  Here  let  me  ask,  what  does  the  constitution  say  upon 
the  subject  ?  Simply  this — that  the  governor  '  shall  have 


HAMILTON.  399 

power  to  convene  the  assembly  and  senate  on  extraordi. 
nary  occasions.' 

"  But  what  is  an  extraordinary  occasion  ?  what  circum- 
stances are  to  concur,  what  ingredients  combine,  to  con- 
stitute one  ?  What  general  rule  can  be  imagined  by  which 
to  define  the  precise  meaning  of  these  vague  terms,  and 
draw  the  line  between  an  ordinary  and  an  extraordinary 
occasion  ?  Will  the  gentleman  on  my  right  furnish  us  with 
such  a  criterion  ?  Profoundly  skilled  as  he  is  in  law,  (at 
least  in  the  local  laws  of  this  state,)  I  fancy  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult for  him  to  invent  one  that  will  suit  his  present  pur- 
pose. Let  him  consult  his  law  books :  they  will  not  relieve 
his  embarrassment.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  clause  allows  the 
greatest  latitude  to  opinion.  What  one  may  think  a  very 
extraordinary  occasion,  another  may  think  a  very  ordinary 
one,  according  to  his  bias,  his  interest,  or  his  intellect.  If 
there  is  any  rule  at  all,  it  is  this — the  governor  shall  not  call 
the  legislature  with  a  view  to  the  ordinary  details  of  the 
state  administration.  Whatever  does  not  fall  within  this 
description,  and  has  any  pretensions  to  national  importance 
in  any  view,  leaves  him  at  liberty  to  exercise  the  discre- 
tion vested  in  him  by  the  constitution.  There  is,  at  least, 
no  constitutional  bar  in  the  way. 

"  The  United  States  are  intrusted  with  the  management 
of  the  general  concerns  and  interests  of  the  community — 
they  have  the  power  of  war  and  peace,  they  have  the 
power  of  treaty. 

"  Our  affairs  with  respect  to  foreign  nations  are  left  to 
their  direction.  We  must  entertain  very  diminutive  ideas 
of  the  government  of  the  union,  to  conceive  that  their 
earnest  call  on  a  subject  which  they  deem  of  great  national 
magnitude,  which  affects  their  engagements  with  two  re- 
spectable foreign  powers,  France  and  the  United  Nether- 
lands, which  relates  to  the  preservation  of  their  faith  at 
home  and  abroad,  is  not  such  an  occasion  as  would  justify 


400  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  executive,  upon  the  terms  of  the  constitution,  in  con- 
vening the  legislature.  If  this  doctrine  is  maintained, 
where  will  it  lead  to — what  kind  of  emergency  must  exist 
before  the  constitution  will  authorize  the  governor  to  call 
the  legislature  ?  Is  the  preservation  of  our  national  faith 
a  matter  of  such  trivial  moment  ?  Is  the  fulfilment  of  the 
public  engagements  domestic  and  foreign  of  no  conse- 
quence ?  Must  we  wait  for  the  fleets  of  the  United  Neth- 
erlands or  of  France  to  enforce  the  observance  of  them, 
before  the  executive  will  be  at  liberty  to  give  the  legisla- 
ture an  opportunity  of  deliberating  on  the  means  of  their 
just  demands  ?  This  is  straining  the  indefinite  words  of 
the  constitution  to  a  most  unreasonable  extreme.  It  would 
be  a  tenable  position  to  say  that  the  call  of  the  United 
States  is  alone  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  idea  of  an  extraor- 
dinary occasion.  It  is  easy  to  conceive,  that  such  a  pos- 
ture of  European  affairs  might  exist,  as  would  render  it 
necessary  to  convene  the  different  legislatures  to  adopt 
measures  for  the  public  safety,  and  at  the  same  time  inex- 
pedient to  disclose  the  object  till  they  were  assembled. 
Will  we  say  that  congress  would  be  bound  to  communi- 
cate the  object  of  their  call  to  the  executive  of  every  state  ? 
or  that  the  executive  of  this  state,  in  complying  with  their 
request,  would  be  guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  constitution  ? 
But  the  present  case  is  not  that  of  a  mere  general  request ; 
it  is  specifically  to  deliberate  upon  an  object  of  acknow- 
ledged importance  in  one  view  or  another.  On  one  hand 
it  is  alleged  to  be  a  measure  essential  to  the  honour,  inter- 
est, and  perhaps  the  existence  of  the  union  ;  on  the  other, 
it  is  said  to  be  on  principles  subversive  of  the  constitution 
and  dangerous  to  the  liberty  of  the  subject.  It  is,  there- 
fore, a  matter  of  delicacy  and  moment,  and  the  earnest 
call  of  the  union  to  have  it  considered  cannot  fall  within 
the  notion  of  so  common,  so  ordinary  an  occasion,  as 
would  prohibit  the  executive  from  summoning  a  meeting 


k  HAMILTON.  401 

of  the  legislature.  The  only  argument  urged  to  denomi- 
nate it  such,  is  that  it  had  been  recently  decided  on  by  the 
legislature.  But  there  is  an  evident  fallacy  in  this  position ; 
the  call  was  addressed  to  a  new  and  different  body,  totally 
different  in  the  contemplation  of  the  constitution,  and  ma- 
terially different  in  fact  with  respect  to  the  members  who 
compose  it.  A  large  proportion  of  the  members  of  the 
present  house  were  not  members  of  the  last.  For  aught 
that  either  congress  or  the  governor  could  officially  know, 
there  might  have  been  a  total  change  in  the  individuals, 
and,  therefore,  a  total  difference  in  the  sentiments.  No 
inference,  of  course,  could  be  fairly  drawn  from  the  con- 
duct of  the  last  legislature  to  that  of  the  present.  Indeed, 
however  it  might  be  wished  to  prepossess  the  minds  of  the 
members  of  the  former  house  with  a  contrary  idea,  it  is 
plain  that  there  is  no  necessary  connection  between  what 
they  did  at  that  time,  and  what  it  may  be  proper  for  them 
to  .do  now.  The  act  of  the  last  session  proves  the  con- 
viction of  the  house  then,  that  the  grant  of  the  impost  was 
an  eligible  measure.  Many  of  the  members  were  led  to 
suppose  that  it  would  answer  the  purpose,  and  might  have 
been  accepted  by  congress.  If  the  experiment  has  shown 
that  they  were  mistaken  in  their  expectations,  and  if  it 
should  appear  to  them  that  congress  could  not  for  good 
reasons  accept  it,  the  same  motives  which  induce  them  to 
the  grant  already  made,  would  determine  them  to  consent 
to  such  alterations  as  would  accommodate  it  to  the  views 
of  congress  and  the  other  states,  and  make  it  practicable 
to  carry  the  system  into  execution. 

"  It  may  be  observed,  that  as  congress  accompanied 
their  request  with  an  explanation  of  the  object,  they  by 
that  mode  of  proceeding  submitted  the  whole  matter  to 
the  discretion  of  the  governor,  to  act  according  to  the  esti- 
mate formed  in  his  own  mind  of  its  importance.  It  is  not 
denied  the  governor  had  a  discretion  upon  the  occasion. 

51 


402  THE    LIFE    OF 

It  is  not  contended,  that  he  was  under  a  constitutional  ne- 
cessity to  convene  the  legislature.  The  resolution  of  con- 
gress itself  does  not  imply  or  intimate  this.  They  do  not 
pretend  to  require,  they  only  earnestly  recommend.  The 
governor  might  at  his  peril  refuse  ;  responsible,  however, 
for  any  ill  consequences  that  might  have  attended  his  re- 
fusal. But  what  is  contended  for  is,  that  the  call  of  the 
United  States,  under  all  circumstances,  was  sufficient  to 
satisfy  the  terms  of  the  constitution  empowering  him  to 
convene  the  legislature  on  extraordinary  occasions,  and 
left  him  at  full  liberty  to  comply. 

"  The  admission  of  his  discretion  does  not  admit  that  it 
was  properly  exercised,  nor  does  it  admit  that  the  footing 
upon  which  he  placed  his  refusal  was  proper.  It  does  not 
admit  that  the  constitution  interposed  an  obstacle  in  his 
way,  or  that  the  request  of  congress  implied  any  thing  hos- 
tile to  the  right  of  free  deliberation. 

"  This  is  the  aspect  under-  which  the  business  presents 
itself  to  our  consideration,  as  well  from  the  correspond- 
ence between  congress  and  the  governor,  as  from  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  ushered  to  us  in  the  speech.  A 
general  approbation  of  his  conduct,  is  an  approbation  of 
the  principle  by  which  it  is  professed  to  have  been  actuated. 

"  Are  we  ready  to  say  that  the  constitution  would  have 
been  violated  by  a  compliance  ?  Are  we  ready  to  say  that 
the  call  upon  us  to  deliberate  is  an  attempt  to  infringe  the 
freedom  of  deliberation  ?  If  we  are  not  ready  to  say  both, 
we  must  reject  the  amendment.  In  particular,  I  think  it 
must  strike  us  all  that  there  is  something  singularly  forced 
in  intimating,  that  an  application  of  congress  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  to  convene  a  new  legislature  to  consider 
a  very  important  national  subject,  has  any  thing  in  it  dan- 
gerous to  the  freedom  of  our  deliberations.  I  flatter  my- 
self we  should  all  have  felt  ourselves  as  much  at  liberty  to 
have  pursued  our  sentiments,  if  we  had  met  upon  an  ex- 


HAMILTON.  403 

traordinary  call,  as  we  now  do  when  met  according  to  our 
own  appointment. 

"  There  yet  remains  an  important  light  in  which  the 
subject  merits  consideration ;  I  mean  as  it  respects  the 
executive  authority  of  the  state  itself.  By  deciding  that 
the  application  of  congress,  upon  which  the  debate  turns, 
was  not  such  an  extraordinary  occasion  as  left  the  gov- 
ernor at  liberty  to  call  the  legislature,  we  may  form  a  pre- 
cedent of  a  very  dangerous  tendency ;  we  may  put  a  sense 
on  the  constitution  very  different  from  the  true  meaning 
of  it,  and  may  fetter  the  present  or  a  future  executive 
with  very  inconvenient  restraints.  A  few  more  such  pre- 
cedents may  tie  up  the  hands  of  a  governor  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  would  either  oblige  him  to  act  at  an  extreme  peril, 
or  to  omit  acting  when  public  exigencies  required  it.  The 
mere  sense  of  one  governor  would  be  no  precedent  for  his 
successor ;  but  that  sense  approved  by  both  houses  of  the 
legislature,  would  become  a  rule  of  conduct.  Suppose  a 
few  more  precedents  of  the  kind  on  different  combinations 
of  circumstances  equally  strong,  and  let  us  ask  ourselves 
what  would  be  the  situation  of  a  governor  whenever  he 
came  to  deliberate  on  the  propriety  of  exercising  the  dis- 
cretion in  this  respect  vested  in  him  by  the  constitution  ? 
Would  he  not  be  apt  to  act  with  a  degree  of  caution,  or 
rather  timidity,  which  in  certain  emergencies  might  be 
productive  of  very  pernicious  consequences  ?  A  mere  in- 
timation of  the  constitution  to  him  not  to  call  the  legisla- 
ture in  their  recess  upon  every  trifling  affair,  which  is  its 
true  import,  would  be  turned  into  an  injunction  not  to  do 
so  but  upon  occasions  of  the  last  necessity. 

"  We  see,  therefore,  that  the  question  upon  which  we 
are  pressed  to  decide,  is  not  less  delicate,  as  it  respects  the 
constitution  of  the  state  itself,  than  as  it  respects  the  union ; 
and  that  in  every  possible  view  it  is  most  prudent  to  avoid 
the  determination.  Let  the  conduct  of  the  governor  stand 


404  THE    LIFE    OF 

on  its  own  merits.  If  he  was  right,  our  approbation  will 
not  make  him  more  right.  If  he  was  wrong,  it  would  be 
improper  to  give  sanction  to  his  error. 

"  Several  things  have  been  said  in  the  debate  which 
have  no  connection  with  it ;  but  to  prevent  their  making 
improper  impressions,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  take  some  no- 
tice of  them.  The  danger  of  a  power  in  congress  to  com- 
pel the  convening  of  the  legislature  at  their  pleasure  has 
been  strongly  insisted  upon.  It  has  been  urged,  if  they 
possessed  it  they  might  make  it  an  engine  to  fatigue  the 
legislature  into  a  compliance  with  their  measures.  In- 
stances of  an  abuse  of  the  like  power  in  the  crown,  under 
the  former  government,  have  been  cited. 
.  "  It  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  all  this  to  say,  that  no  such 
power  is  contended  for.  I  do  not  assert  that  their  request 
obliged  the  governor  to  convene  the  legislature ;  I  only 
maintain  that  their  request  on  an  important  national  sub- 
ject, was  such  an  occasion  as  left  him  at  liberty  to  do  it 
without  any  colour  for  imputing  to  him  a  breach  of  the 
constitution ;  and  that  from  motives  of  respect  to  the  union, 
and  to  avoid  any  further  degradation  of  its  authority, 
already  at  too  low  an  ebb,  he  ought  to  have  complied. 

"  Admitting  in  the  fullest  extent  that  it  would  be  danger- 
ous to  allow  to  congress  the  power  of  requiring  the  legis- 
lature to  be  convened  at  pleasure,  yet  no  injury  or  incon- 
venience can  result  from  supposing  the  call  of  the  United 
States,  on  a  matter  by  them  deemed  of  importance,  to  be 
an  occasion  sufficiently  extraordinary  to  authorize,  not  to 
oblige  the  governor  to  comply  with  it. 

"  I  cannot  forbear  remarking,  that  it  is  a  common  artifice 
to  insinuate  a  resemblance  between  the  king  under  the 
former  government  and  congress ;  though  no  two  things 
can  be  more  unlike  each  other.  Nothing  can  be  more  dis- 
similar than  a  monarch,  permanent,  hereditary,  the  source 
of  honour  and  emolument,  and  a  republican  body  com- 


HAMILTON.  405 

posed  of  a  number  of  individuals  appointed  annually,  liable 
to  be  recalled  within  the  year,  and  subject  to  a  continual 
rotation ;  which,  with  few  exceptions,  is  the  fountain 
neither  of  honour  nor  emolument.  If  we  will  exercise 
our  judgments,  we  shall  readily  see  no  such  resemblance 
exists,  and  that  all  inferences  deduced  from  the  comparison 
must  be  false. 

"  Upon  every  occasion,  however  foreign  such  observa- 
tions may  be,  we  hear  a  loud  cry  raised  about  the  danger 
of  intrusting  power  to  congress ;  we  are  told  it  is  danger- 
ous to  trust  power  any  where ;  that  power  is  liable  to 
abuse,  with  a  variety  of  trite  maxims  of  the  same  kind. 
General  propositions  of  this  nature  are  easily  framed,  the 
truth  of  which  cannot  be  denied,  but  they  rarely  convey 
any  precise  idea.  To  these  we  might  oppose  other  propo- 
sitions equally  true,  and  equally  indefinite.  It  might  be 
said  that  too  little  power  is  as  dangerous  as  too  much  ;  that 
it  leads  to  anarchy,  and  from  anarchy  to  despotism.  But 
the  question  still  recurs,  what  is  too  much  or  too  little  ? 
Where  is  the  measure  or  standard  to  ascertain  the  happy 
mean? 

"  Powers  must  be  granted,  or  civil  society  cannot  exist : 
the  possibility  of  abuse  is  no  argument  against  the  thing ; 
this  possibility  is  incident  to  every  species  of  power,  how- 
ever placed  or  modified.  The  United  States,  for  instance, 
have  the  power  of  war  and  peace.  It  cannot  be  disputed 
that  conjunctures  might  occur,  in  which  that  power  might 
be  turned  against  the  rights  of  the  citizens  ;  but  where  can 
we  better  place  it — in  short,  where  else  can  we  place  it  at 
all? 

"  In  our  state  constitution  we  might  discover  power  lia- 
ble to  be  abused  to  very  dangerous  purposes.  I  shall  in- 
stance only  the  council  of  appointment.  In  that  council 
the  governor  claims  and  exercises  the  power  of  nominating 
to  all  offices.  This  power  of  nomination,  in  its  operation, 


406  THE    LIFE    OF 

amounts  to  a  power  of  appointment ;  for  it  can  always  be 
so  managed  as  to  bring  in  persons  agreeable  to  him,  and 
exclude  all  others.  Suppose  a  governor  disposed  to  make 
this  an  instrument  of  personal  influence  and  aggrandize- 
ment— suppose  him  inclined  to  exclude  from  office  all  inde- 
pendent men,  and  to  fill  the  different  departments  of  the 
state  with  persons  devoted  to  himself — what  is  to  hinder 
him  from  doing  it  ?  who  can  say  how  far  the  influence 
arising  from  such  a  prerogative  might  be  carried  ?  Per- 
haps this  power,  if  closely  inspected,  is  a  more  proper  sub- 
ject of  republican  jealousy  than  any  power  possessed  or 
asked  by  congress,  fluctuating  and  variable  as  that  body  is. 

"  But  as  my  intention  is  not  to  instil  any  unnecessary 
jealousies,  I  shall  prosecute  these  observations  no  further. 
They  are  only  urged  to  show  the  imperfections  of  human 
institutions,  and  to  confirm  the  principle,  that  the  possibility 
of  a  power  being  abused,  is  no  argument  against  its  exist- 
ence. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  let  us  venture  with  caution  upon  con- 
stitutional ground.  Let  us  not  court  nor  invite  discussions 
of  this  kind.  Let  us  not  endeavour  still  more  to  weaken 
and  degrade  the  federal  government,  by  heaping  fresh 
marks  of  contempt  on  its  authority.  Perhaps  the  time  is 
not  far  remote,  when  we  may  be  inclined  to  disapprove 
what  we  now  seem  eager  to  commend,  and  may  wish  we 
had  cherished  the  union  with  as  much  zeal  as  we  now  dis- 
cover apprehension  of  its  encroachments. 

"  I  hope  the  house  will  not  agree  to  the  amendment.  In 
saying  this,  I  am  influenced  by  no  other  motive  than  a 
sense  of  duty.  I  trust  my  conduct  will  be  considered  in 
this  light.  I  cannot  give  my  consent  to  put  any  thing  upon 
our  minutes  which,  it  appears  to  me,  we  may  one  day  have 
occasion  to  wish  obliterated  from  them." 

The  opposition  was  again  called  up,  and  travelled  over 
the  same  ground ;  inveighed  against  the  dangers  of  an  in- 


HAMILTON.  407 

croachment  on  the  rights  of  the  people ;  justified  fully  the 
conduct  of  the  governor  ;  declared  that  the  decision  of  the 
constitutional  question  was  not  necessarily  involved,  and 
closed  with  a  strong  appeal  to  popular  feeling  on  the  dan- 
gers to  be  apprehended  from  countenancing  such  an  inva- 
sion of  the  freedom  of  their  deliberations. 

Hamilton  replied ;  indicated  more  clearly  the  fallacy  of 
the  arguments  which  had  been  used  ;  pointed  out  the  true 
construction  of  the  language  of  the  constitution ;  warned 
the  house  of  the  folly  and  danger  of  this  distrust  of  the 
powers  of  congress,  and  ridiculed  the  attempt  to  draw  an 
analogy  between  its  powers  and  those  of  a  monarchy. 
"  Are  we  not,"  he  asked,  "  to  respect  federal  decisions  ? 
are  we  on  the  contrary  to  take  every  opportunity  of  hold- 
ing up  their  resolutions  and  requests  in  a  contemptible  and 
insignificant  light,  and  tell  the  world  their  calls,  their  re- 
quests are  nothing  to  us ;  that  we  are  bound  by  none  of 
their  measures  ?  Do  not  let  us  add  to  their  embarrassments, 
for  it  is  but  a  slender  tie  that  at  present  holds  us.  You 
see,  alas  !  what  contempt  we  are  falling  into  since  the  peace  ; 
you  see  to  what  our  commerce  is  exposed  on  every  side ; 
you  see  us  the  laughing-stock,  the  sport  of  foreign  nations. 
And  what  may  this  lead  to  ?  I  dread,  sir,  to  think.  Little 
will  it  avail  then  to  say,  we  could  not  attend  to  your  wise 
and  earnest  requests  without  inconvenience  :  little  will  it 
avail  to  say,  it  would  have  injured  individual  interests  to 
have  left  our  farms.  These  things  are  trifling  when  com- 
pared to  bringing  the  councils  and  powers  of  the  union  into 
universal  contempt,  by  saying  their  call  was  unimportant, 
and  that  it  did  not  come  under  the  indefinite  meaning  of 
'  extraordinary.  See,  gentlemen,  before  you  may  feel,  what 
may  be  your  situation  hereafter.  There  is  more  involved 
in  this  measure  than  presents  itself  to  your  view. 

"  You  hear  it  rung  in  your  ears  that,  from  the  resem- 
blance between  the  king  and  the  congress  of  these  states, 


408  THE    LIFE    OP 

it  would  be  dangerous  to  come  into  measures  proposed  by 
them,  and  adopted  by  every  state  but  this.  But  I  say  there 
is  no  danger ;  it  is  impossible ;  the  constitution,  the  con- 
federation, prevents  it.  Let  us  hear  the  reasoning  used  ; — 
they  have  the  power  o£  declaring  war  and  peace,  and  re- 
quest the  power  of  raising  and  applying  money.  This,  if 
in  a  king,  permanent,  hereditary,  and  independent  of  the 
people,  would  be  danger ;  but  in  an  annual  body  chosen 
from  ourselves,  and  liable  on  every  turn  of  popular  breath 
to  be  changed,  who  are  checked  by  twelve  other  states, 
who  would  not  stand  by  and  see  the  ruin  of  their  associ- 
ates, as  it  would  involve  their  own, — where  can  be  the 
danger  ?  How  can  a  similitude  exist  between  bodies  so 
different — as  different  as  east  from  west,  as  north  from 
south  ?  I  regret  that  these  things  should  be  compared,  for 
there  is  no  necessity  for  sounding  this  alarm.  It  is  enough 
the  danger  of  republican  governments  that  their  very  na- 
ture tends  to  their  destruction,  because  of  their  liability  to 
change." 

The  question  was  then  taken,  and  such  was  the  force  of 
the  governor's  party,  that  the  conciliatory  substitute  was 
rejected  by  a  vote  of  thirty-six  to  nine. 

A  few  days  after  the  address  was  adopted,  this  irritating 
topic  being  disposed  of,  the  friends  of  the  impost,  however 
inauspicious  the  prospect,  indulged  the  hope  that  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  country  might  induce  a  compliance  with  a 
measure  which  had  been  at  this  time  sanctioned  by  all  of 
the  other  states,  and  that  notwithstanding  the  views  of  the 
opposition,  when  the  final  vote  was  taken,  they  would  shrink 
from  the  responsibility  of  placing  the  state  in  an  attitude 
so  hostile  to  the  confederation  and  leading  to  consequences 
so  portentous. 

A  motion  was  made  for  a  reference  of  this  subject  to  a 
committee,  according  to  the  usual  practice  of  the  house, 
but  the  speaker  having  avowed  himself  a  friend  of  the 


HAMILTON.  409 

measure,  and  it  being  apprehended  that  the  report  of  a 
committee  favourable  to  the  impost  might  have  weight  with 
the  house,  an  attempt  was  made  to  defeat  this  motion  and 
to  refer  the  subject  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  house. 
This  design  was  defeated,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  investigate  the  subject.  While  under  its  consideration, 
Hamilton  moved  a  reference  of  the  laws  apparently  con- 
travening the  treaty  :  one,  relative  to  debts  due  to  persons 
within  the  enemy's  lines;  the  other,  the  much  agitated 
"  Trespass  act :"  taking  as  the  basis  of  this  motion  the  letter 
of  the  secretary  of  foreign  affairs,  and  the  communications 
of  the  British  government  in  relation  to  its  violation.  Of 
this  committee  he  was  appointed  chairman,  and  he  intro- 
duced a  bill  after  a  speech  indicating  the  importance  of  this 
measure  to  the  state,  and  her  obligation  to  remove  all  im- 
pediments to  the  foreign  negotiations. 

The  following  is  a  brief  outline  of  his  remarks  upon  this 
subject :  He  first  expressed  great  uneasiness  that  any  op- 
position should  be  made  to  this  bill,  particularly  as  this 
state  was  individually  interested  therein.  He  felt  greater 
regret  from  a  conviction  in  his  own  mind  on  this  occasion, 
that  the  bill  should  be  objected  to,  as  there  was  not  a  single 
law  in  existence  in  this  state  in  direct  contravention  of  the 
treaty  of  peace.  He  urged  the  committee  to  pass  the  bill, 
from  the  consideration  that  the  state  of  New- York  was 
the  only  state  to  gain  any  thing  by  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  treaty. 

There  was  no  other  state  in  the  union  that  had  so  much 
to  expect  from  it.  The  restoration  of  the  western  posts  was 
an  object  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  per 
annum.  Great  Britain  held  those  posts  on  the  plea  that 
the  United  States  had  not  fulfilled  the  treaty,  and  which 
we  have  strong  assurances  she  will  relinquish  on  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  engagements  with  her.  But  how  far  Great 
Britain  might  be  sincere  in  her  declaration  was  unknown. 

52 


410  THE    LIFE    OF 

Indeed  he  doubted  it  himself.  But  while  he  doubted  the 
sincerity  of  Great  Britain,  he  could  not  but  be  of  opinion 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  this  state  to  enact  a  law  for  the  re- 
peal of  all  laws  which  may  be  against  the  treaty,  as  by  do- 
ing away  all  exceptions  she  would  be  reduced  to  a  crisis ; 
she  would  be  obliged  to  show  to  the  world  whether  she  was 
in  earnest  or  not,  and  whether  she  will  sacrifice  her  honour 
and  reputation  to  her  interest.  With  respect  to  the  bill,  as 
it  was  drafted  in  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of 
congress,  he  viewed  it  as  a  wise  and  salutary  measure ; 
one  calculated  to  meet  the  approbation  of  the  different 
states,  and  most  likely  to  answer  the  end  proposed.  Were 
it  possible  to  examine  an  intricate  maze  of  laws,  and  to 
determine  which  of  them  or  what  parts  of  those  laws  were 
opposed  to  the  treaty,  it  still  might  not  have  the  intended 
effect,  as  different  parties  would  have  the  judging  of  the 
matter.  What  one  would  say  was  a  law  not  inconsistent 
with  the  treaty  of  peace,  another  might  say  was  so,  and 
there  would  be  no  end.  no  decision  of  the  business.  Even 
some  of  the  states  might  view  laws  in  a  different  manner. 
The  only  way  to  comply  with  the  treaty,  was  to  make  a 
general  and  unexceptionable  repeal.  Congress,  with  an 
eye  to  this,  had  proposed  a  general  law,  from  which  the 
one  before  them  was  a  copy.  He  thought,  as  it  was  ob- 
vious to  every  member  of  the  committee,  that  as  there 
was  no  law  in  direct  opposition  to  the  treaty,  no  difficulty 
could  arise  from  passing  the  bill. 

Some  gentlemen,  he  observed,  were  apprehensive  that 
the  bill  would  restore  confiscated  estates.  This  he  did 
not  admit.  However,  if  they  were  so  disposed,  they 
might  add  a  proviso  to  prevent  it.  He  had  written  one, 
which  any  of  the  gentlemen  might  move,  if  they  thought 
necessary.  In  his  opinion  it  was  not  necessary.  The  bill 
only  provided  that  no  future  confiscations  should  take 
place,  and  that  congress  should  earnestly  recommend  a 


HAMILTON. 

restoration  of  property.  But  there  was  nothing  obliga- 
tory in  this. 

If  this  state  should  not  come  into  the  measure,  would 
it  not  be  a  very  good  plea  for  the  other  states  to  favour 
their  own  citizens,  and  say,  why  should  we  do  thus,  when 
New- York,  the  most  interested  orany  of  the  states,  refuses 
to  adopt  it  ?  And  shall  we  suffer  this  imputation,  when 
we  have  in  fact  no  laws  that  militate  against  the  treaty  ? 

He  stated  the  great  disadvantages  that  our  merchants 
experienced  from  the  western  posts  being  in  the  hands  of 
the  British,  and  asked  if  it  was  good  policy  to  let  them  re- 
main so. 

It  had  been  said  that  the  judges  would  have  too  much 
power.  That  was  a  misapprehension.  He  stated  the 
powers  of  the  judges  with  great  clearness  and  precision. 
He  insisted  that  their  powers  would  be  the  same  whether 
these  laws  passed  or  not ;  for  as  all  treaties  were  known 
by  the  constitution  as  the  laws  of  the  land,  so  must  the 
judges  act  on  them,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing. 

Cicero,  the  great  Roman  orator  and  lawyer,  lays  it  down 
as  a  rule,  that  when  two  laws  clash,  that  which  relates  to 
the  most  important  matters  ought  to  be  preferred.  If  this 
rule  prevail,  who  can  doubt  what  would  be  the  conduct 
of  the  judges,  should  any  laws  exist  inconsistent  with  the 
treaty  of  peace  ?  But  it  would  be  impolitic  to  leave  them 
to  the  dilemma  either  of  infringing  the  treaty  to  enforce 
the  particular  laws  of  the  state,  or  to  explain  away  the 
laws  of  the  state  to  give  effect  to  the  treaty. 

He  declared  that  the  full  operation  of  the  bill  would  be 
no  more  than  merely  to  declare  the  treaty  the  law  of  the 
land  ;  and  that  the  judges  viewing  it  as  such,  shall  do  away 
all  laws  that  may  appear  in  direct  contravention  of  it. 
Treaties  were  known  constitutionally  to  be  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  why  be  afraid  to  leave  the  interpretation  of  those 


412  THE    LIFE    OP 

laws  to  the  judges.  The  constitution  knows  them  as  the 
interpreters  of  the  law.  He  asked  if  there  was  any  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  who  would  be  willing  to  see  the  first 
treaty  of  peace  ever  made  by  this  country  violated? 
This  he  did  not  believe.  He  could  not  think  that  any 
member  on  that  floor  harboured  such  sentiments.  He  was 
in  hopes  that  the  committee  would  agree  with  him  in  opin- 
ion, and  give  a  proof  of  their  attachment  to  our  national 
engagements  by  passing  the  bill,  which  would  do  away 
every  exception  of  the  British  court."  This  exposition 
overcame  every  objection,  and  this  important  act  passed 
the  house,  but  fell  in  the  senate. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  session  he  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  .committee  on  expiring  laws,  to  report  which 
should  be  continued,  and  also  such  new  laws  as  they  should 
conceive  would  be  beneficial  to  the  state.  In  the  perform- 
ance of  this  duty  his  mind  was  directed  to  a  great  variety 
of  topics.  The  first  matter  of  local  interest  which  called 
forth  his  exertions,  was  an  "  act  to  regulate  the  elections"  of 
the  state.  This  act  not  only  involved  several  important 
principles,  but  had  a  special  bearing  on  its  political  charac- 
ter. Its  details  have  not  enough  of  general  interest  to 
warrant  their  introduction  in  this  place.  It  is  sufficient  to 
remark  the  singular  inconsistency  evinced  on  this  occasion 
in  the  conduct  of  the  opponents  to  the  power  of  the  gene- 
ral government,  who  claimed  the  exclusive  merit  of  pro- 
tecting the  liberties  of  the  state. 

On  questions  which  arose  involving  the  highest  consti- 
tutional principles,  while  Hamilton  and  his  friends  were 
foremost  in  resisting  all  attempts  to  explain  away  the  state 
constitution,  and  to  abridge  the  freedom  of  elections,  and 
were  endeavouring  to  maintain  a  complete  and  full  tolera- 
tion of  religious  opinions,  the  state  party  was  found  advo- 
cating measures  tending  to  the  most  dangerous  consequen- 
ces. They  opposed  a  mere  request  of  congress  for  conve- 


HAMILTON.  413 

ning  the  legislature  of  the  state,  as  threatening  danger  to  the 
freedom  of  deliberation,  and  they  proposed  a  test  not  sanc- 
tioned by  its  constitution.  They  refused  a  grant  of  power 
necessary  to  the  existence  of  the  union,  as  dangerous  to 
the  liberties  of  the  people ;  and  they  sought  to  violate  the 
constitution  of  their  state,  by  restraining  the  free  exercise 
of  the  right  of  suffrage — the  first  principle  of  all  free  insti- 
tutions— the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 

One  proposition  was  to  enable  the  inspectors  of  the  elec- 
tions to  take  aside  every  illiterate  person,  and  examine  him 
privately,  respecting  his  ballot.  Against  this,  Hamilton 
took  a  decided  stand,  showing  the  danger  of  an  improper 
influence  being  exercised,  and  the  probability  that  the 
leaning  of  the  inspectors  would  produce  an  improper  bias ; 
contending  that  "  it  was  better  that  the  illiterate  should 
take  the  chance  of  imposition  from  parties  equally  active, 
than  to  leave  them  subject  to  party  views,  concentred  in 
inspectors,  upon  whom  the  fate  of  the  election  depended. 
That  it  was  wholly  contrary  to  the  very  genius  and  inten- 
tion of  balloting,  which  means,  that  a  man's  vote  should  be 
secret,  and  known  only  to  himself;  but  by  this  proviso  he 
was  not  merely  permitted,  he  was  obliged  to  discover  his 
vote,  thus  depriving  the  unlettered  person  of  that  liberty 
which  his  more  instructed  fellow-citizen  had  secured  to 
him.  These  reasons,  he  hoped,  would  be  deemed  sufficient 
to  induce  the  house  to  reject  the  clause,  as  repugnant  to 
the  genius  and  liberty  of  our  republic."  He  prevailed. 

Another  clause  authorized  the  inspectors  to  impose  an 
oath  of  abjuration  of  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  obedi- 
ence, which  was  defended  by  the  leader  of  the  democratic 
party,  on  the  ground  that  this  distinction  was  warranted 
by  the  constitution.  Hamilton  declared  "  that  the  consti- 
tution was  their  creed  and  standard,  and  ought  never  to 
be  departed  from,  but  that  its  provisions  had  not  been  cor- 
rectly understood ;  that  there  were  two  different  bodies 


414  THE    LIFE    OF 

in  the  state  to  which  the  proposition  had  reference.  These 
were  the  Roman  Catholics  who  were  already  citizens,  who 
were  born  among  us,  and  those  coming  from  abroad.  That 
from  foreigners  wishing  to  be  naturalized,  the  abjuration 
of  their  former  sovereign  might  be  required  for  reasons 
which  do  not  exist  on  the  part  of  the  person  born  and  ed- 
ucated here,  unencumbered  with  that  dangerous  fanaticism 
which  terrified  the  world  some  centuries  back,  but  which 
is  now  dissipated  by  the  light  of  philosophy.  These  acts 
are  therefore  no  longer  necessary,  for  the  dangers  are  now 
only  imaginary,  and  are  void  of  existence,  at  least  with 
respect  to  us,  the  object  being  to  exclude  Roman  Catho- 
lics from  their  right  of  representation. 

He  animadverted  on  the  little  influence  possessed  by  the 
pope  in  Europe — spoke  of  the  reformation  going  forward 
in  the  German  empire,  and  of  the  total  independence  of 
the  French  church,  and  compared  the  requiring  of  oaths 
of  this  nature,  to  the  vigilance  of  those  who  would  bring 
engines  to  extinguish  fires  which  had  long  subsided.  He 
observed,  also,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  were  not  the  only 
society  affected — that  some  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church- 
es held  a  species  of  ecclesiastical  foreign  jurisdiction ;  he 
alluded  to  the  classes  of  Amsterdam.  "  But,"  he  asked, 
"  is  the  natural  subject,  the  man  born  among  us,  educated 
with  us,  possessing  our  habits,  possessing  our  manners, 
with  an  equal  ardent  love  of  his  native  country,  to  be  re- 
quired to  take  the  same  oath  of  abjuration  ?  What  has  he 
to  abjure  ?  He  owes  no  fealty  to  any  other  power  upon 
earth.  There  is  no  probability  that  his  mind  will  be  led 
astray  by  bigotry  or  foreign  influence.  Then  why  give 
him  cause  of  dissatisfaction,  by  bringing  forward  a  test 
which  will  not  add  to  his  fidelity  ?" 

He  stated  that  the  clause  in  the  constitution  confined  the 
test  to  foreigners,  and  that  it  was  adopted  after  much  de- 
bate, and  by  a  small  majority,  and  that  even  as  to  them,  he 


HAMILTON.  415 

questioned  whether  the  test  ought  to  be  proposed.  That 
he  was  decidedly  against  going  so  far  as  to  extend  it  to  ec- 
clesiastical matters.  "Why  should  we  wound  the  tender 
conscience  of  any  man  ?  and  why  present  oaths  to  those 
who  are  known  to  be  go'od  citizens  ?  why  alarm  them  ? 
why  set  them  upon  inquiry  that  is  useless  and  unnecessary  ? 
You  give  them  reason  to  suppose  that  you  request  too 
much  of  them,  and  they  cannot  but  refuse  compliance. 

"  The  constitution  does  not  require  such  a  criterion  to  try 
the  fidelity  of  any  citizen.  It  is  solely  intended  for  aliens 
and  foreigners,  coming  from  abroad  with  manners  and 
habits  different  from  our  own,  and  whose  intentions  are 
concealed.  The  oath  should  be  confined  to  civil  matters. 
It  is  all  that  we  ought  or  can  require.  A  man  will  not 
then  be  alarmed  in  his  interpretation.  It  will  not  set  his 
mind  to  inquire  if  his  religious  tenets  are  affected,  and  much 
inconvenience  would  be  avoided.  We  should  be  cautious 
how  we  carry  the  principle  of  requiring  and  multiplying 
tests  upon  our  fellow-citizens,  so  far  as  to  practise  it  to 
the  exclusion  or  disfranchisement  of  any."  The  clause 
was,  nevertheless,  in  part  retained. 

A  further  provision  was  proposed,  excluding  pensioners 
and  officers  holding  under  congress,  from  seats  in  the 
senate  and  assembly.  This  clause  gave  rise  to  the  discussion 
of  a  most  important  question,  whether  the  legislature  pos- 
sessed the  power  of  abridging  the  constitutional  rights  of 
the  people. 

By  the  state  party  it  was  contended,  that  while  the  con- 
stitution protected  the  rights  of  the  electors,  it  was  silent  as 
to  the  elected,  and  that  therefore  the  legislature  had  the 
right  to  annex  qualifications  to  the  elected. 

Colonel  Hamilton  observed,  "  that  they  were  going  on 
dangerous  ground ;  that  the  best  rule  to  follow  was  the 
rule  of  the  constitution,  which  it  would  be  safest  to  adhere 
to  without  alteration  or  addition.  If  we  once  depart  from 


416  THE   LIFE   OF 

this  rule,  it  is  impossible  to  see  where  we  would  end. 
To-day,  a  majority  of  the  persons  sitting  here,  from  a  par- 
ticular mode  of  thinking,  disqualify  one  description  of  men ; 
a  future  legislature,  from  a  particular  mode  of  thinking  on 
another  point,  disqualify  another  set  of  men.  One  prece- 
dent is  the  pretext  of  another,  till  we  narrow  the  ground 
of  qualifications  to  a  degree  subversive  of  the  constitution. 
It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  convention  who  framed 
the  constitution  were  inattentive  to  this  point.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  too  much  importance  not  to  have  been  well  considered. 

"  They  have  fixed  the  qualification  of  electors  with  pre- 
cision. They  have  defined  those  of  senator  and  governor, 
but  they  have  been  silent  as  to  the  qualifications  of  mem- 
bers of  assembly.  It  may  be  said  that,  being  silent,  they 
have  left  the  matter  to  the  discretion  of  the  legislature. 
But  is  not  the  language  of  the  framers  of  the  constitution 
rather  this — We  will  fix  the  qualifications  of  electors  ; 
we  will  take  care  that  persons  absolutely  indigent  shall  be 
excluded ;  we  will  provide  that  the  right  of  voting  shall  be 
on  a  broad  and  secure  basis,  and  we  will  trust  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  electors  themselves  the  choice  of  those  who 
are  to  represent  them  in  assembly  ? 

"  Every  qualification  implies  a  disqualification.  The  per- 
sons who  do  not  possess  the  qualification  required,  become 
ineligible.  Is  not  this  to  restrain  the  freedom  of  choice 
allowed  by  the  constitution  to  the  body  of  electors  ?  An 
improper  exercise  of  this  liberty  cannot  constitutionally  be 
presumed.  Why,  therefore,  should  we  circumscribe  it 
within  limits  unknown  to  the  constitution  ?  Why  should 
we  abridge  the  rights  of  any  citizens  in  so  important  an 
article  ?  By  the  constitution,  every  citizen  is  eligible  to  a 
seat  in  the  assembly.  If  we  say  certain  descriptions  of 
persons  shall  not  be  so  eligible,  what  is  this  but  to  deprive 
all  those  who  fall  within  that  description,  of  an  essential 
right  allowed  them  by  the  constitution  ? 


HAMILTON.  417 

**  If  we  once  break  the  ground  of  departing  from  the  sim- 
ple plan  of  the  constitution,  it  may  lead  us  much  farther 
than  we  intend. 

"  From  the  prevalency  of  a  certain  system,  it  is  now 
proposed  to  exclude  all  persons  from  seats  who  hold  offices 
under  congress ;  the  pretence  is,  to  guard  against  an  im- 
proper influence.  I  may  think  another  species  of  influ- 
ence more  dangerous.  To  preserve  consistency,  we  should 
declare  that  no  member  of  congress  should  hold  a  seat. 
For,  surely,  if  it  be  dangerous  that  the  servants  of  congress 
should  have  a  seat  in  this  house,  it  is  more  dangerous  that 
the  members  themselves  should  be  allowed  this  privi- 
lege.* 

"  There  are  officers  who  have  been  wounded  in  the  ser- 
vice, and  who  now  have  pensions  under  the  United  States 
as  the  price  of  their  blood  ;  would  it  be  just,  would  it  not 
be  cruel  on  this  account  to  exclude  men  from  a  share  in 
the  administration  of  that  government  which  they  have  at 
every  hazard  contributed  to  establish  ?  From  the  silence 
of  the  constitution,  it  is  inferred  that  it  was  intended  to 
leave  this  point  to  the  discretion  of  the  legislature.  I  rather 
infer  that  the  intention  of  the  constitution  was  to  leave  the 
qualifications  of  their  representatives  wholly  to  the  electors 
themselves.  The  language  of  the  constitution  seems  to  be 
this :  Let  us  take  care  that  the  persons  to  elect  are  pro- 
perly qualified  ;  that  they  are  in  such  a  situation  in  point 
of  property  as  not  to  be  absolutely  indigent  and  dependent, 
and  let  us  trust  to  them  the  care  of  choosing  proper  per- 
sons to  represent  them. 

"  I  hold  it  to  be  a  maxim  which  ought  to  be  sacred  in 
our  form  of  government,  that  no  man  ought  to  be  deprived 
of  any  right  or  privilege  which  he  enjoys  under  the  consti- 

*  John  Lansing  and  John  Haring  were  recently  appointed  by  the  legis- 
lature in  which  they  had  seats  delegates  to  congress. 

53 


418  THE    LIFE    OF 

tution,  but  for  some  offence  proved  in  due  course  of  law. 
To  declare  qualifications  or  disqualifications  by  general 
descriptions  in  legislative  acts,  would  be  to  invade  this  im- 
portant principle.  It  would  be  to  deprive,  in  the  gross,  all 
those  who  had  not  the  requisite  qualifications,  or  who  were 
objects  of  those  disqualifications,  of  that  right  to  a  share  in 
the  administration  of  the  republic  which  the  constitution 
gives  them  ;  and  thus,  without  any  offence,  to  incur  a  for- 
feiture. As  to  the  objection  that  the  electors  might  even 
choose  a  foreigner  to  represent  them  within  the  latitude 
of  the  constitution,  the  answer  is,  that  common  sense 
would  not  tolerate  such  a  construction.  The  constitution, 
from  the  fundamental  policy  of  a  republican  government, 
must  be  understood  to  intend  citizens. 

"  Let  us  pursue  the  subject  a  little  further.  Commerce, 
it  will  be  admitted,  leads  to  an  increase  of  individual  pro- 
perty. Property  begets  influence.  Though  a  legislature, 
composed  as  we  are,  will  always  take  care  of  the  rights 
of  the  middling  and  lower  classes,  suppose  the  majority 
of  the  legislature  at  a  future  day  to  consist  of  wealthy  men, 
what  could  hinder  them,  if  the  right  of  innovating  on  the 
constitution  be  admitted,  from  declaring  that  no  man  not 
worth  ten  thousand  pounds  should  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in 
either  house?  Would  not  this  introduce  a  principle  of 
aristocracy  fatal  to  the  genius  of  our  present  constitu- 
tion? 

"  In  making  this  observation,  I  cannot  be  suspected  of 
wishing  to  increase  the  jealousy  already  sufficiently  high 
of  men  of  property.  My  situation,  prospects,  and  connec- 
tions, forbid  the  supposition ;  but  I  mean  honestly  to  lay 
before  you  the  dangers  to  which  we  expose  ourselves,  by 
letting  in  the  principle  which  the  clause  under  considera- 
tion rests  upon.  I  give  no  opinion  on  the  expediency  of 
the  exclusion  proposed.  I  only  say,  in  my  opinion,  the 
constitution  does  not  permit  it ;  and  I  shall  be  against  any 


HAMILTON.  419 

qualification  or  disqualification,  either  of  electors  or  elect- 
ed, not  prescribed  by  the  constitution. 

"  The  qualifications  both  of  the  electors  and  the  elected 
ought  to  be  fundamental  in  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, not  liable  to  be  varied  or  added  to  by  the  legislature, 
and  they  should  for  ever  remain  where  the  constitution 
left  them.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  men,  to  carry  some  fa- 
vourite point  in  which  their  party  or  their  prejudices  are 
interested,  will  inconsiderately  introduce  principles  and 
precedents  which  lead  to  successive  innovations  destruc- 
tive of  the  liberty  of  the  subject  and  the  safety  of  the  gov- 
ernment." The  clause  was  stricken  out. 

The  candour,  the  simplicity  of  his  truth,  and  the  strict 
regard  to  the  liberties  of  the  citizen  displayed  on  these  oc- 
casions, entered  deeply  into  the  mind  of  the  house,  and 
every  question  where  state  pride  was  not  concerned,or  offi- 
cial influence  not  exerted,  he  carried  by  a  large  majority. 

He  opposed  with  great  force  an  amendment  of  the  senate, 
making  a  hostile  discrimination  as  to  persons  who  had  been 
engaged  in  privateering  during  the  war,  on  the  ground  that 
all  legislative  disfranchisements  were  unconstitutional.  "  In 
one  article  of  the  constitution  it  is  said — No  man  shall  be 
disfranchised  or  deprived  of  any  right  he  enjoys  under  the 
constitution,  but  by  the  law  of  the  land  or  the  judgment  of 
his  peers.  Some  gentlemen  hold  that  'the  law  of  the 
land'  will  include  an  act  of  the  legislature  ;  but  Lord  Coke, 
that  great  luminary  of  the  law,  in  his  comment  on  a  simi- 
lar clause  in  Magna  Charta,  interprets  the  law  of  the  land 
to  mean  presentment,  and  indictment,  and  process  of  out- 
lawry, as  contradistinguished  from  trial  by  jury. 

"But  if  there  were  any  doubt  upon  the  constitution,  the 
bill  of  rights  enacted  in  this  very  session  removes  it.  It  is 
there  declared  that  no  man  shall  be  disfranchised  or  de- 
prived of  any  right  but  by  due  process  of  law  or  the  judg- 
ment of  his  peers.  The  words  '  due  process,'  have  a  pre- 


420  THE    LIFE    OP 

cise  technical  import,  and  are  only  applicable  to  the  pro- 
cess and  proceedings  of  ,the  courts  of  justice.  They  can 
never  be  referred  to  an  act  of  the  legislature. 

"  Are  we  willing  then  to  endure  the  inconsistency  of  pass- 
ing a  bill  of  rights,  and  committing  a  direct  violation  of  it 
in  the  same  session  ?  In  short,  are  we  ready  to  destroy  its 
foundations  at  the  moment  they  are  laid  ? 

"  When  the  discriminating  clauses  admitted  into  the  bill 
by  this  house  were  introduced,  he  was  restrained  by  mo- 
tives of  respect  for  the  sense  of  a  respectable  part  of  the 
house,  from  giving  it  any  other  opposition  than  a  simple 
vote.  The  limited  operation  they  would  have,  made  him 
less  anxious  about-  their  adoption,  but  he  could  not  recon- 
cile it  to  his  judgment  or  feelings  to  observe  a  like  silence 
on  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  senate.  Its  operation 
would  be  very  extensive ;  it  would  include  almost  every 
man  in  the  city  concerned  in  navigation  during  the  war. 

"  Let  us,  then,  distinct  from  constitutional  considerations, 
consider  the  expediency  and  justice  of  the  clause.  The 
word  privateer  is  indefinite,  and  may  include  letters  of 
marque.  The  merchants  of  this  city  during  the  war,  ge- 
nerally speaking,  must  abandon  their  means  of  livelihood  or 
be  concerned  in  navigation.  If  concerned  in  navigation, 
they  must  of  necessity  have  their  vessels  armed  for  de- 
fence. They  would  naturally  take  out  letters  of  marque. 
If  every  owner  of  a  letter  of  marque  is  disfranchised,  the 
body  of  your  merchants  will  probably  be  in  this  situation. 
Is  it  politic  or  wise  to  place  them  in  it?  Is  it  expedient  to 
force  by  exclusions  and  discriminations  a  numerous  and  pow- 
erful class  of  citizens  to  be  unfriendly  to  the  government  ? 

"  He  knew  many  individuals  who  would  be  comprehend- 
ed, who  are  well  affected  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
who  are  disposed  to  give  every  support  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  who,  some  of  them  at  least,  even  during  the 
war,  had  manifested  an  attachment  to  the  American  cause. 


HAMILTON.  421 

But  there  is  one  view  in  which  the  subject  merits  consider- 
ation, that  must  lay  hold  on  all  our  feelings  of  justice. 
By  the  maritime  law,  a  majority  of  the  owners  have 
a  right  to  dispose  of  the  destination  of  the  vessel.  The 
dissent  of  the  minority  is  of  no  avail.  It  may  have  hap- 
pened, and  probably  has  happened  in  many  instances,  that 
vessels  have  been  employed  as  privateers,  or  letters  of 
marque,  by  a  majority  of  the  owners  contrary  to  the  sense 
of  the  minority. 

"  Would  it  be  just  to  punish  the  innocent  with  the  guilty, 
— to  take  away  the  rights  of  the  minority,  for  an  offence 
committed  by  the  majority  without  their  participation,  per- 
haps contrary  to  their  inclinations  ?  He  would  mention  a 
further  case,  not  equally  strong,  but  of  considerable  force, 
to  incline  the  house  against  the  amendment.  He  had  been 
informed  that  in  one  or  more  instances  during  the  war, 
some  zealous  people  had  set  on  foot  subscriptions  for  fit- 
ting out  privateers,  perhaps  at  the  instigation  of  the  Brit- 
ish government ;  and  had  applied  to  persons  suspected 
of  an  attachment  to  us  to  subscribe,  making  their  com- 
pliance a  test  of  their  loyalty.  Several  individuals  well 
disposed  to  our  cause,  to  avoid  becoming  the  objects  of 
persecution,  had  complied  ;  would  it  not  be  too  rigorous  to 
include  them  in  so  heavy  a  penalty  ? 

"  It  may  be  said  they  were  guilty  of  a  culpable  want  of 
firmness.  But  if  there  are  any  of  us  who  are  conscious 
of  greater  fortitude,  such  persons  should  not  on  that  ac- 
count be  too  severe  on  the  weaknesses  of  others.  They 
should  thank  nature  for  its  bounty  to  them,  and  should  be 
indulgent  to  human  frailty.  How  few  are  there  who  would 
have  had  strength  of  mind  enough  in  such  circumstances 
to  hazard,  by  a  refusal,  being  marked  out  as  the  objects  of 
military  resentment ! 

"  I  hope,  as  well  from  motives  of  justice  as  a  regard  to 
the  constitution,  we  shall  stop  where  we  are,  and  not  go 


422  THE    LIFE    OF 

any  farther  into  the  dangerous  practice  of  disqualifying 
citizens  by  general  descriptions." 

"Though,"  a  member  replied,  "he  held  Colonel  Hamil- 
ton in  high  estimation,  and  had  a  very  great  respect  for 
his  candour,  abilities,  and  knowledge  of  mankind,  yet  he 
believed  him  much  mistaken.  He  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim, 
that  the  man  who  was  once  an  enemy  will  always  remain 
so.  It  was  prudent  to  guard  against  admitting  these  peo- 
ple to  a  participation  of  the  rights  of  citizens.  He  would 
not  operate  on  those  who  had  taken  up  arms  unwillingly. 
The  exclusion  was  constitutional,  because  the  constitution 
must  warrant  every  thing  necessary  for  its  own  support." 
He  appealed  to  that  section  of  it  which  prohibited  attain- 
ders, except  for  crimes  committed  during  the  war. 

Hamilton  denied  the  distinction,  and  explained  the  inten- 
tion and  meaning  of  this  clause  of  the  constitution.  He 
defined  acts  of  attainder,  "  as  laws  confiscating  for  treason 
and  misprision  of  treason  all  the  property  and  estate  of 
the  attainted  traitor,  and  forfeiting  his  life  unless  he  ap- 
peared to  take  his  trial."  This  was  the  construction  of  it 
by  the  country  from  which  we  derive  our  knowledge  of 
jurisprudence,  and  he  believed  no  example  could  be  ad- 
duced, wherein  it  had  been  extended  or  applied  in  any 
other  manner.  He  was  positive  it  could  not  be  exercised 
to  disfranchise  a  whole  party  ;  for  this  obvious  reason,  that 
it  would  involve  the  innocent  with  the  guilty.  This  clause 
in  the  constitution  was  only  intended  to  apply  in  particular 
cases,  where  an  exception  to  the  established  mode  of  com- 
mon law  became  necessary  by  the  persons  absenting 
themselves,  and  did  not  apply  to  the  subject  before  the 
house.  Precedents  of  this  kind  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
subversion  of  the  liberties  of  the  people.  He  hoped  they 
would  not  be  established."  He  again  prevailed.* 

*  Nays  32  to  21. 


HAMILTON.  423 

It  has  been  stated  that  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-two,  while  Hamilton  was  continental  receiver, 
he  had  digested  a  system  of  taxation,  the  great  object  of 
which  was  to  exclude  arbitrary  valuations  ;  that  he  also 
had  sought  to  engraft  the  same  principle  in  the  continental 
re'venue  system,  framed  in  the  following  year. 

Having  been  placed  on  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means,  he  now  brought  forward  and  enforced  at  much 
length  similar  views.  His  great  objects  were  to  substitute 
a  mode  by  which  every  individual  could  himself  estimate 
what  he  had  to  pay,  without  being  dependent  on  the  ca- 
prices, the  affections,  or  the  enmities  of  another ;  and  to 
approximate  as  near  as  possible  to  certainty  and  equality, 
the  two  great  objects  to  be  aimed  at  in  every  system  of 
taxation. 

One  of  the  clauses  of  the  bill  raising  taxes  deviated  from 
a  general  and  safe  principle.  It  proposed  a  tax  on  certain 
legal  instruments,  and  was  objected  to  because  it  was  par- 
tial in  its  operation  affecting  the  members  of  the  law. 
Hamilton  declared  his  opinion,  "  that  it  was  not  proper  to 
tax  any  particular  class  of  men  for  the  benefit  of  the  state 
at  large ;  but  in  the  present  instance  it  was  to  answer  a 
very  important  purpose.  It  was  putting  in  force  that  most 
excellent  part  of  the  constitution,  which  declares  that  the 
judges  should  be  independent  of  the  legislature.  This,  at 
present,  was  not  the  case.  He  therefore  supported  the 
paragraph,  observing  that  the  salaries  of  the  judges  should 
be  permanent ;  that  they  should  neither  fear  the  powers 
nor  court  the  favour  of  the  legislature.  He  believed  it 
was  right  that  this  independence  should  arise  from  the  tax 
proposed."  He  succeeded  in  sustaining  this  provision,  but 
the  plan,  after  a  very  full  consideration,  was  defeated  by 
a  small  majority. 

A  discussion  arose  upon  the  objections  of  the  council  of 
revision  to  a  bill  for  settling  intestate  estates,  proving  wills, 


424  THE    LIFE    OF 

and  granting  letters  of  administration.  Jones  advocated 
the  enactment  of  the  law.  Hamilton,  after  stating  that  he 
should  probably  vote  with  him,  remarked,  "  that  he  did  not 
view  the  matter  in  quite  so  clear  a  light  as  that  gentleman 
appeared  to  do.  There  appeared  to  him  to  be  difficulties 
in  the  case,  which  he  would  candidly  lay  before  the  house 
to  assist  its  judgment. 

"  The  objection  is,  that  a  new  court  is  erected,  or  an  old 
one  invested  with  a  new  jurisdiction,  in  which  it  is  not 
bound  to  proceed  according  to  the  course  of  the  common 
law.  The  question  is,  what  is  meant  in  the  constitution  by 
this  phrase,  '  the  common  law  ?'  These  words  have,  in  a 
legal  view,  two  significations — one  more  extensive,  the 
other  more  strict.  In  their  most  extensive  sense,  they 
comprehend  the  constitution  of  all  those  courts  which  were 
established  by  immemorial  custom ;  such  as  the  court  of 
chancery,  the  ecclesiastical  court,  &c. ;  though  these  courts 
proceed  according  to  a  peculiar  law. 

"  In  their  more  strict  sense,  they  are  confined  to  the 
course  of  proceedings  in  the  courts  of  Westminster,  in 
England,  or  in  the  supreme  court  in  this  state.  If  the  words 
are  understood  in  the  first  sense,  the  bill  under  consider- 
ation is  not  unconstitutional.  In  the  last  it  is  unconstitu- 
tional, for  it  gives  to  an  old  court  a  new  jurisdiction,  in 
which  it  is  to  proceed  according  to  the  course  of  the  com- 
mon law  in  this  last  sense.  And  to  give  new  jurisdiction 
to  old  courts,  not  according  to  the  course  of  the  common 
law,  is,  in  my  opinion,  as  much  of  an  infringement,  in  sub- 
stance, of  this  part  of  the  constitution,  as  to  erect  new 
courts  with  such  jurisdiction.  To  say  the  reverse,  would 
be  to  evade  the  constitution. 

"  But,  though  I  view  it  as  a  delicate  and  difficult  question, 
yet  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  more  extensive  sense 
may  be  fully  adopted,  with  this  limitation — that  such  new 
jurisdictions  must  proceed  according  to  the  course  of  those 


HAMILTON.  425 

courts,  having,  by  the  common  law,  cognizance  of  the  sub- 
ject matter.  They  ought,  however,  never  to  be  extended 
to  objects  which,  at  common  law,  belonged  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  courts  at  Westminster,  and  which  in  this  state 
are  of  the  peculiar  cognizance  of  the  supreme  court.  At 
common  law,  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  not  the  courts  of 
Westminster,  had  cognizance  of  intestacies  and  testament- 
ary cases.  The  bill  proposes  that  the  court  of  probates 
shall  have  cognizance  of  the  same  causes  and  proceed  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  except  as  to 
inflicting  ecclesiastical  penalties.  The  distinction  I  have 
taken  will,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  bear  us  out  in  passing 
the  bill  under  consideration.  But  it  is  certainly  a  point 
not  without  considerable  difficulty."  The  bill  was  passed. 

If  the  precise  and  profound  knowledge  of  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  jurisprudence  here  evinced,  commands  the  respect 
of  that  important  class  of  men  whose  profession  educates 
and  constitutes  them  the  guardians  of  human  rights,  his 
tolerant  spirit  more  attracts  the  commendation  of  all  those 
who  justly  value  freedom  of  conscience,  without  which  the 
law  is  chiefly  known  by  her  fetters  and  her  scourge. 

In  the  question,  the  solemn  question,  "  Why  should  we 
wound  the  tender  conscience  of  any  man  ?"  the  sternest 
rebuke  is  given  to  him  who  would  control  religious  opinion 
by  the  secular  arm,  as  if  man  had  any  power  over  the  soul 
of  man.  Nor  is  it  less  pleasing  to  remark  the  caution  and 
the  heart  with  which  he  watched  over  the  rights  of  the 
numerous  and  less  favoured  body  of  men.  In  the  statute 
regulating  elections,  it  is  the  poor  and  "  the  illiterate"  elect- 
or who  is  to  be  protected,  as  well  as  "  his  more  instructed 
fellow-citizen,"  in  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  in  the  right 
of  choosing  as  his  representative  whom  he  pleased ;  that 
right  to  be  enjoyed  as  the  constitution  gave  it,  not  to  be 
infringed  by  any  legislative  act,  but  to  be  judged  by  the 
law  of  the  land  "  in  its  due  process." 

54 


426  THE    LIFE    OF 

As  a  matter  affecting  the  poor,  he  prepared  a  bill  to 
regulate  the  circulation  of  copper  coin,  founded  on  a  re- 
port which  showed  a  depreciated  copper  currency,  and 
framed  a  resolution  directing  the  delegates  in  congress  to 
move  for  an  alteration  in  the  ordinance  as  to  the  mint,  so 
that  the  copper  coin  should  not  pass  for  more  than  the  ac- 
tual value  of  the  copper  and  the  expense  of  coinage. 

While  discussing  an  act  to  exempt  from  imprisonment 
the  smaller  classes  of  debtors,  his  only  apprehension  was, 
that  this  exemption  would  prevent  the  poor  from  obtain- 
ing assistance  from  the  rich.  "  He  would  wish,"  he  said, 
"  that  every  man  in  distress  would  meet  relief — he  would 
enter  into  any  measure  that  would  effect  this  purpose. 
But  the  clause  as  it  stood,  was  not  proper ;  it  might  be 
right  to  say  what  shall  be  done  in  respect  to  future  con- 
tracts, but  it  would  be  wrong  to  meddle  with  the  past." 

The  law  to  diminish  the  expense  of  the  collection  of 
small  debts,  and  those  in  relation  to  the  descent  and  dis- 
tribution of  property,  are  all  in  a  similar  equal  spirit. 

At  the  previous  session,  an  act  had  been  passed  abolish- 
ing entails,  and  dividing  the  inheritance  in  equal  parts 
among  the  lawful  issue  of  the  intestate.  This  principle 
was  now  extended  to  personal  property,  with  an  equitable 
reference  to  previous  settlements  or  advances.  Freehold- 
ers were,  by  another  act,  empowered  to  alien  at  their 
pleasure,  and  the  feudal  badges  abolished ;  all  charges  in- 
cident to  wardships,  liveries,  values,  and  forfeitures  of  mar- 
riages being  taken  away,  and  the  tenures  so  held,  turned 
into  free  and  common  socage.  Lands  exempt  in  other 
states  were  here  made  liable  to  be  sold  by  executions  for 
debt,  and  the  process  in  personal  actions  was  simplified. 

Having  thus  given  the  law  a  free  course,  he  drafted  an 
act  of  bankruptcy. 

Criminal  jurisprudence  was  also  an  object  of  his  atten- 
tion. While  he  sought  to  secure  the  rights  of  society,  a 


HAMILTON.  427 

spirit  of  lenity  marked  his  course.  He  introduced  an  act 
for  the  speedy  trial  of  small  offenders,  and  while  condemning 
the  severity  of  some  of  the  penal  laws  of  England,  he  sus- 
tained those  which  had  in  view  the  protection  of  the  sub- 
ject from  arbitrary  power.  The  law  of  treason  was  de- 
fined, by  declaring  it  to  consist  only  in  levying  war  against 
the  people  of  the  state,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies, 
giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  It  must  be  established  "  by 
good  proof  of  open  deed,"  and  no  person  could  be  indicted 
for  or  convicted  of  it  except  on  the  oaths  of  "  two  lawful 
witnesses,"  or  upon  confession  "  without  violence,  in  open 
court." 

The  various  other  crimes  in  their  successive  gradations 
were  also  defined,  and  their  punishment  prescribed.  Amid 
the  disorders  following  a  revolution,  frequent  violations  of 
personal  liberty  would  take  place.  To  remedy  this  great  evil, 
a  bill  was  passed  to  prevent  delays  in  obtaining  the  evasion 
of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  bet- 
ter securing  the  liberty  of  the  citizens  of  the  state." 

Litigation  had  become  rife,  and  there  was  a  violent  cla- 
mour against  the  members  of  the  bar,  by  the  many  against 
whom  the  arm  of  justice  was  raised.  A  bill  was  brought 
forward  to  reduce  their  compensation :  with  the  respect 
due  to  the  profession  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  with 
a  discriminating  regard  to  the  true  interests  of  the  public, 
he  resisted  it  as  a  mere  lure  for  popularity,  and  demon- 
strated the  folly  of  reducing  their  compensation  below  a 
reasonable  standard.  With  the  same  regard  to  justice,  he 
earnestly  opposed  a  proposition  which  had  been  made  in 
a  former  legislature,  and  was  now  renewed,  for  a  discrimi- 
nation between  the  different  classes  of  the  public  creditors, 
and  urged  a  general  and  equal  provision  for  them  all. 
"  The  state,"  he  declared,  "  ought  to  give  all  the  relief  pos- 
sible to  every  class  of  public  claimants.  There  should  be 
no  discrimination  with  respect  to  possessors  of  certificates. 


428  THE    LIFE    OP 

There  was  no  propriety  in  a  partial  relief;  justice  should 
alike  be  administered  to  all."  Thus,  in  a  session  of  the 
legislature  the  most  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  this  state, 
he  is  seen  usefully  employed  in  guarding  against  excess  of 
every  kind,  and  in  a  revisal  and  cautious  modification  of 
most  of  the  great  statutes  fundamental  to  its  polity. 

Had  a  desire  for  personal  distinction  influenced  him,  in- 
stead of  this  careful  observance  of  ancient  landmarks  and 
established  precedents,  the  social  system  might  have  been 
disturbed  to  gratify  the  ambition  of  being  the  author  of  a 
code  ;  but  his  was  of  another  kind.* 

At  this  time  was  also  passed  an  act  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  navigation  by  steam,  and  thus  an  incitement  was 
given  to  discoveries  which  form  an  era  in  the  annals  of 
this  country.  This  was  also  an  epoch  in  another  branch 
of  legislation,  which  must  largely  and  happily  control  its 
future  destinies. 

The  proposed  provisions  in  the  law  governing  elections 
for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  illiterate  persons,  show 
the  want  of  education  at  this  time.  The  evil  was  one  of 
an  extent  and  magnitude  worthy  the  cares  of  a  statesman 
employed  in  laying  the  foundations  of  an  empire. 

When  studying  closely,  as  Hamilton  had  done,  the  intel- 
lect of  the  ancient  world,  while  the  wonderful  advances  it 
had  made  with  its  feeble  aids  attracted  his  admiration,  the 
pervading  defect  of  its  polity  could  not  have  escaped  his 
observation.  Its  institutions  were  for  the  few ;  the  pro- 
gressive nature  of  society  was  overlooked,  and  hence  their 
frequent  and  sudden,  violent  and  total  subversion.  A  sys- 
tem of  general  education  was  unknown,  and  consequently 
when  the  civilized  world  was  overrun,  forming  no  part 


*  It  would  be  a  great  injustice  to  omit  the  name  of  Samuel  Jones  as  a  chief 
coadjutor  in  this  important  duty.  To  his  profound  learning,  this  state  is 
much  indebted  as  a  reviser  of  its  laws. 


HAMILTON.  429 

of  the  state,  learning  was  buried  amid  the  ruins  of  empires, 
or  was  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  the  cloister.  Emerg- 
ing from  this  asylum  by  slow  degrees,  it  came  into  a  rude 
world,  obscured  by  the  dogmas  of  the  contending  sects, 
which,  admitting  the  theory,  refused  the  right  of  free  in- 
quiry, and  at  the  same  time  assumed  the  high  office  of 
teaching  nations. 

The  United  States  being  settled  at  this  time,  felt  these 
influences,  and  the  early  colonies,  in  their  religious  preju- 
dices and  political  speculations,  exhibit  conspicuously  the 
coexistence  of  the  most  adverse  principles ;  in  questions 
of  faith,  a  narrow  tyranny  ;  in  questions  of  government,  the 
largest  liberty.  With  the  distinguished  exception  of  parts 
of  New-England,  the  only  education  proceeded  from  reli- 
gious endowments ;  a  happy  provision  for  a  people  too 
poor  and  sparse  to  educate  themselves.  But  these  endow- 
ments were  inadequate  to  the  purpose. 

Hamilton  resolved  to  supply  this  deficiency ;  guarding 
against  sectarian  or  other  influences  foreign  to  it,  he  de- 
termined to  build  up  a  great  system  of  public  instruction 
upon  comprehensive  principles ;  to  make  it  so  essential  a 
part  of  the  public  policy,  that  it  would  endure  through 
every  change  of  government ;  to  render  it  by  habit  a  want 
of  society,  a  necessary  part  of  its  aliment  that  must  and 
will  be  satisfied. 

His  first  great  object  was  to  place  a  book  in  the  hand 
of  every  American  child.  As,  in  his  enlarged  views,  each 
branch  of  knowledge  had  its  place  and  value  in  reference 
to  the  various  natural  indications  of  the  mind,  the  next 
was  to  provide  for  each  individual,  and  each  degree  and 
variety  of  talent,  a  progressive  culture.  Thus,  from  the 
broad  basis  of  common  education  was  to  rise  in  due  gra- 
dation a  system  of  order  and  of  beauty,  to  be  cemented 
with,  to  pervade,  to  sustain,  to  overarch,  and  to  embellish 
the  whole  moral  and  political  frame  of  society. 


430  THE    LIFE    OF 

Only  one  literary  foundation  of  magnitude  existed  in 
the  colony  of  New- York,  known  as  King's  College ;  an 
endowment  by  the  church  of  England  in  the  year  seven- 
teen hundred  and  fifty-four,  on  condition  of  conformity 
with  its  tenets.  This  college  was  dispersed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  revolution.  Its  professors  fled,  its  library 
was  plundered,  and  the  edifice,  which  had  been  occupied 
by  the  British  soldiery,  alone  remained.  In  the  interior 
of  the  state  the  few  schools  which  had  been  sustained  by 
private  resources  were  abandoned  ;  a  fact  of  moment  to 
show  the  character  of  the  generation  which  grew  up  du- 
ring this  civil  war.  Soon  after  the  peace,  the  attention 
of  the  legislature  was  directed  to  this  subject,  and  in  May, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  an  act  was  passed  to 
create  a  university,  of  which  the  great  officers  of  the 
state,  writh  twenty-four  others  to  be  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  council  of  appointment,  and  one  to  represent 
the  clergy,  were  constituted  the  regents,  upon  whom  was 
conferred  the  government  and  visitation  of  the  colleges 
and  schools  that  should  be  established.  This  act  also 
provided,  in  addition  to  the  regents  appointed  by  the  stale, 
that  every  religious  society  might  institute  a  professorship, 
and  that  every  founder  of  a  college  or  school  might  elect 
a  representative,  who,  with  the  president  of  each  institu- 
tion, was  to  be  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents,  of  which 
all  professors,  tutors,  and  fellows,  were  also  to  be  members 
in  virtue  of  their  offices. 

Thus,  the  control  of  education  would  soon  have  been 
wrested  from  the  state,  and  would  have  passed  into  the 
hands  of  those  either  least  apt  to  detect,  or  most  interested 
in  concealing  abuses,  and  who  would  not  have  kept  pace 
with  the  advances  of  society.  This  act  also  violated  a 
great  principle  of  justice,  despoiling  King's  College  of  its 
property  and  vesting  it  in  the  university.  At  the  next 
meeting  of  the  legislature  an  amendatory  act  was  passed, 


HAMILTON.  431 

which  extended  the  error  of  the  original  law  by  giving 
to  the  clergy  of  each  denomination  the  right  of  represen- 
tation in  the  regency.  It  also  constituted  a  new  board  of 
regents,  of  which  Hamilton  was  appointed  a  member. 
No  beneficial  results  were  attained  by  this  legislation ; 
the  college  languished,  and  the  severe  blow  which  it  had 
received  by  the  violation  of  its  charter  left  little  prospect 
of  its  renovation,  while  the  precedent  wrould  deter  other 
similar  efforts  of  munificence.  It  also  essentially  deviated 
from  Hamilton's  views,  which  contemplated  a  state  estab- 
lishment for  public  instruction,  excluding  all  clerical  and 
individual  influence. 

Soon  after  the  excitement  which  had  arisen  at  the 
opening  of  the  session  was  quieted,  he  introduced  "  an 
act  to  institute  a  university,  and  for  other  purposes." 
This  act  repealed  the  previous  laws,  and  established  a 
university  by  the  style  of  the  "  Regents  of  the  University 
of  the  State  of  New- York;"  who  were  incorporated  with 
perpetual  succession,  with  power  to  hold  property  yielding 
a  limited  income.  It  provided,  that  there  should  be  al- 
ways twenty-one  regents,  "of  which  the  governor  and 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  state,  for  the  time  being,  were 
always,  in  virtue  of  their  offices,  to  be  two ;"  and  it  ap- 
pointed the  other  regents  by  name,  who,  with  all  future 
regents,  were  to  continue  in  place  Curing  the  pleasure  of 
the  legislature,  which  was  to  supply  vacancies.  Thus,  it 
was  hoped  that  the  supervision  of  education  would  not  be 
perverted  to  party  purposes. 

The  regents  were  to  be  convened  by  the  governor,  in 
the  first  instance,  and  were  to  elect  a  chancellor  and  vice- 
chancellor,  to  hold  their  offices  during  their  pleasure. 

The  regents  were  constituted  the  visitors  of  all  the  col- 
leges and  academies  of  the  state,  with  the  duty  of  visiting 
every  college  once  in  each  year.  They  were  enjoined  to 
meet  annually  at  the  seat  of  government,  to  report  the  state 


432  THE    LIFE    OF 

of  education  and  discipline  to  the  legislature,  with  power  to 
supply  vacancies  occurring  in  the  offices  of  presidents  of 
the  colleges,  or  of  the  principals  of  the  academies,  through 
the  neglect  of  their  trustees.  They  were  also  to  confer  de- 
grees, to  apply  ,their  funds  at  their  discretion,  "  in  a  man- 
ner most  conducive  to  the  promotion  of  useful  knowledge 
within  the  state,"  and  to  authorize  the  founding  of  colleges 
and  academies  by  individuals,  the  trustees  of  which,  whose 
number  was  defined,  after  a  declaration  under  the  common 
seal  of  the  regents  to  that  effect,  became  incorporated 
with  perpetual  succession,  but  always  subject  to  their  visi- 
tation. 

The  annual  revenue  of  the  academies  was  also  limited. 
The  scholars  educated  in  those,  whose  plan  of  education 
should  be  approved  by  the  regents,  were  entitled,  upon 
examination,  to  be  admitted  into  either  college. 

Provisions  were  made  for  the  government  of  these 
academies  by  their  trustees,  and  for  their  elevation  to  the 
rank  of  a  college  when  deemed  expedient  by  the  regents. 
No  president  or  professor  was  to  be  ineligible  by  reason 
of  his  religious  tenets — all  test-oaths  were  prohibited.  No 
professor  or  tutor  could  be  a  trustee  of  any  of  these  es- 
tablishments, nor  could  any  presiding  officer  have  a  vote 
as  to  his  salary,  nor  were  any  of  the  officers  or  founders 
of  these  institutions  eligible  as  regents  of  the  university. 
These  were  the  general  provisions  of  this  important  act. 
It  also  repaired  the  wrong  to  King's  College,  ratifying  its 
charter  under  the  previously  selected  name  of  Columbia 
College,  expressly  abrogating  all  provisions  in  it  requiring 
test-oaths  or  declarations  of  religious  conformity,  limiting 
the  number  of  the  trustees,  when  reduced  by  death  or  re- 
signation, to  twenty-four  persons,  who  were  vested  with 
the  original  property  of  the  college.  By  this  system,  all 
the  seminaries  of  instruction  became  a  part  of  the  univer- 
sity, and  were  subject  to  its  visitation.  Every  institution 


HAMILTON.  433 

had  a  government  of  its  own,  and  a  strong  inducement  to 
improvement  was  held  out  to  each  academy,  by  the  prom- 
ise of  advancement  to  the  rank  of  a  college. 

The  privilege  to  the  scholars  of  academies  of  admission 
into  the  colleges,  would  secure  a  uniformity  of  discipline  and 
of  education,  and,  that  which  Hamilton  deemed  of  the  great- 
est importance  under  a  popular  government,  every  founda- 
tion of  learning  was  secured  from  legislative  interference 
by  a  perpetual  charter. 

Justly  as  New-York  may  boast  her  provision  for  the  ed- 
ucation of  her  citizens,  yet  from  a  want  of  perseverance 
and  comprehensive  energy  in  its  administration,  this  im- 
portant act  has  not  yet  produced  all  the  beneficial  results 
anticipated  by  its  author. 

It  is  only  by  a  comparison  of  his  system  with  those  of 
the  autocratic  monarchies  of  Europe,  and  of  their  success 
in  extending  and  raising  the  popular  intelligence,  that  a 
just  estimate  can  be  formed  of  its  merits. 

Thus  viewed,  it  will  be  deemed  not  a  little  remarkable 
that  Hamilton  should  have  anticipated,  by  a  bold  effort  of 
his  genius,  a  plan  of  public  instruction  that  will  bear  com- 
parison with  those  which  in  Europe  have  been  the  results 
of  long  usage,  and  of  successive  acts  of  legislation,  at  last 
moulded  into  a  form  that  would  seem  not  to  be  suscepti- 
ble of  improvement.* 

While  his  mind  had  been  in  part  occupied  with  these 
various  subjects  of  interest,  his  thoughts  were  chiefly  di- 
rected to  the  great  object  which  had  induced  him  to  accept 
a  seat  in  the  assembly.  Would  New- York  still  obsti- 
nately withhold  from  congress  the  power  of  raising  a  na- 
tional revenue,  was  the  question  he  resolved  to  determine. 

*  It  is  stated  that  the  imperial  decree  of  March,  1808,  must,  from  its  anal- 
ogy with  this  law,  have  been  "  seen  and  copied  "  by  the  statesmen  of  France. 
—Am.  Qr.  Rev.  v.  6,  p.  145. 

55 


434  THE    LIFE    OF 

Every  effort  having  been,  made  to  impress  on  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  the  necessity  of  granting  the  impost 
upon  terms  which  would  be  accepted  by  the  other  states, 
a  final  action  on  this  measure  took  place  on  the  fifteenth 
of  February. 

After  adverting  to  the  discrepancy  of  the  votes  which 
had  been  given  on  the  different  clauses  of  this  bill,  Hamil- 
ton observed : — 

"It  is  a  common  practice  upon  the  discussion  of  an  im- 
portant subject,  to  endeavour  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of 
the  audience  to  the  speaker,  by  professions  of  disinterested- 
ness and  zeal  for  the  public  good.  The  example,  however 
frequent,  I  shall  no  farther  imitate  than  by  making  one  or 
two  general  observations.  If,  in  the  public  stations  I  have 
filled,  I  have  acquitted  myself  with  zeal,  fidelity,  and  disin- 
terestedness ;  if,  in  the  private  walks  of  life,  my  conduct 
has  been  unstained  by  any  dishonourable  act ;  if  it  has 
been  uniformly  consistent  with  the  rules  of  integrity,  I 
have  a  right  to  the  confidence  of  those  to  whom  I  address 
myself.  They  cannot  refuse  it  to  me  without  injustice — I 
am  persuaded  they  will  not  refuse  it  to  me. 

"  If,  on  the  other  hand,  my  public  conduct  has  been  in 
any  instance  marked  with  perfidy,  duplicity,  or  with  sinister 
views  of  any  kind  ;  if  any  imputations  founded  in  fact  can 
be  adduced  to  the  prejudice  of  my  private  character,  I  have 
no  claim  to  the  confidence  of  the  community,  nor  should  I 
expect  it. 

"  Even  these  observations  I  should  have  spared  myself, 
did  I  not  know  that,  in  the  rage  of  party,  gross  calumnies 
have  been  propagated.  Some  I  have  traced  and  detected ; 
there  may  still  be  others  in  secret  circulation,  with  which 
I  am  unacquainted.  Against  the  influence  of  such  arts  I 
can  have  no  other  shield  than  the  general  tenor  of  my  past 
conduct.  If  that  will  protect  me,  I  may  safely  confide  in 
the  candour  of  the  committee.  To  that  standard  I  cheer- 


HAMILTON.  435 

fully  submit.  But,  indeed,  of  what  importance  is  it  who  is 
the  speaker  ?  His  reasons  only  concern  the  committee. 
If  these  are  good,  they  owe  it  to  themselves  and  to  their 
constituents  to  allow  them  their  full  weight." 

He  then  proceeded  to  examine  the  objections  which  had 
been  raised  to  the  delegatiori  of  legislative  power  to  con- 
gress. This  examination  led  to  a  close  and  cogent  argu- 
ment, embracing  a  consideration  of  the  relations  of  the 
states  to  the  confederacy ;  showing  that  the  idea  of  a 
union  of  the  colonies  had  pervaded  all  the  public  acts  of 
the  country ;  that  it  was  continued  and  confirmed  in  the 
declaration  of  independence  ;  and  that  the  confederation, 
by  the  express  terms  of  the  compact,  preserved  and  con- 
tinued the  power  of  perpetuating  that  union.  In  the  course 
of  these  remarks,  the  powers  of  the  confederation  were 
briefly  analyzed,  and  its  supremacy  asserted ;  and  it  was 
shown  that  the  objections  to  the  proposed  grant  of  the  im- 
post would,  if  sustained,  have  proved  that  the  powers  al- 
ready vested  in  it  were  illegal  and  unconstitutional ;  would 
render  a  confederation  of  the  states  in  any  form  impracti- 
cable, and  would  defeat  all  the  provisions  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  state  which  related  to  the  United  States.  "  If," 
he  observed, "  the  arguments  I  have  used  under  this  head  are 
not  well  founded,  let  gentlemen  come  forward  and  show 
their  fallacy.  Let  the  subject  have  a  fair  and  full  explana- 
tion, and  let  truth,  on  whatever  side  it  may  be,  prevail." 

He  in  the  next  place  answered  the  objection,  that  this 
grant  of  the  impost  to  congress  would  endanger  their  lib- 
erties ;  and,  in  order  to  overcome  prejudice,  he  gave  a  nar- 
rative of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  measure.  "  Whence," 
he  asked  at  its  close,  "  can  this  danger  to  liberty  arise  ?  The 
members  of  congress  are  annually  chosen  by  the  several 
legislatures ;  they  are  removable  at  any  moment  at  the 
pleasure  of  those  legislatures.  They  come  together  with 
different  habits,  prejudices,  and  interests.  They  are,  in  fact, 


43G  THE    LIFE    OF 

continually  changing.  How  is  it  possible  for  a  body  so 
composed  to  be  formidable  to  the  liberties  of  the  states, 
several  of  which  are  large  empires  in  themselves  ? 

"  The  subversion  of  the  liberty  of  these  states  could  not 
be  the  business  of  a  day.  It  would  at  least  require  time, 
premeditation,  and  concert.  Can  it  be  supposed  that  the 
members  of  a  body  so  constituted,  would  be  unanimous  in 
a  scheme  of  usurpation  ?  If  they  were  not,  would  it  not 
be  discovered  and  disclosed  ?  If  we  even  could  suppose 
this  unanimity  among  one  set  of  men,  can  we  believe  that 
all  the  new  members,  who  are  yearly  sent  from  one  state 
or  another,  would  instantly  enter  into  the  same  views  ? 
Would  there  not  be  found  one  honest  man,  to  warn  his 
country  of  the  danger  ? 

"  Suppose  the  worst :  suppose  the  combination  entered 
into  and  continued ; — the  execution  would  at  least  announce 
the  design,  and  the  means  of  defence  would  be  easy.  Con- 
sider the  separate  power  of  several  of  these  states,  and  the 
situation  of  them  all !  Consider  the  extent,  populousness, 
and  resources  of  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  I 
might  add,  of  New- York,  Connecticut,  and  other  states ! 
Where  could  congress  find  means  sufficient  to  subvert  the 
government  and  liberties  of  either  of  these  states  ?  Or  rather, 
where  find  means  sufficient  to  effect  the  conquest  of  all  ?  If 
an  attempt  was  made  upon  one,  the  others,  from  a  sense  of 
common  danger,  would  make  common  cause,  and  they 
could  immediately  unite  and  provide  for  their  joint  defence. 

"There  is  one  consideration  of  immense  force  in  this 
question,  not  sufficiently  attended  to.  It  is  this — that  each 
state  possesses  in  itself  the  full  power  of  government,  and 
can  at  once,  in  a  regular  and  constitutional  way,  take 
measures  for  the  preservation  of  its  rights.  In  a  single 
kingdom  or  state,  if  the  rulers  attempt  to  establish  a  tyr- 
anny, the  people  can  only  defend  themselves  by  a  tumultu- 
ary insurrection.  They  must  run  to  arms  without  concert 


HAMILTON.  437 

or  plan,  while  the  usurpers,  clothed  with  the  forms  of  legal 
authority,  can  employ  the  force  of  the  state  to  suppress 
them  in  embryo,  and  before  they  can  have  time  or  oppor- 
tunity to  give  system  to  their  opposition.  With  us  the 
case  is  widely  different.  Each  state  has  a  government 
completely  organized  in  itself,  and  can  at  once  enter  into 
a  regular  plan  of  defence,  with  the  force  of  the  community 
at  its  command.  It  can  immediately  form  connections 
with  its  neighbours,  or  even  with  foreign  powers,  if  neces- 
sary. 

"  In  a  contest  of  this  kind,  the  body  of  the  people  will 
always  be  on  the  side  of  the  state  governments.  This  will 
not  only  result  from  their  love  of  liberty  and  regard  to 
their  own  safety,  but  from  other  strong  principles  of  hu- 
man nature."  Among  these  were  mentioned  the  operation 
of  the  state  governments  upon  the  immediate  personal  con- 
cerns to  which  the  sensibility  of  individuals  is  awake — the 
distribution  of  private  justice,  and  the  weight  of  official 
influence.  '  The  causes,'  he  said,  '  which  secure  the  at- 
tachment of  the  people  to  their  local  governments  present 
us  with  another  important  truth — the  natural  imbecility 
of  federal  governments,  and  the  danger  that  they  will 
never  be  able  to  exercise  power  enough  to  manage  the 
federal  affairs  of  the  union.  Though  the  states  will  have 
a  common  interest,  yet  they  will  also  have  a  particular 
interest ;  for  example,  as  a  part  of  the  union,  it  will  be  the 
interest  of  every  state  that  the  general  government  should 
be  supplied  with  the  revenues  necessary  for  the  national 
purposes  ;  bat  it  will  be  the  particular  interest  of  each 
state  to  pay  as  little  itself,  and  to  let  its  neighbours  pay  as 
much  as  possible.  Particular  interests  have  always  more 
influence  upon  men,  than  general.  The  several  states, 
therefore,  consulting  their  immediate  advantage,  may  be 
considered  as  so  many  eccentric  powers  tending  in  a  con- 
trary direction  to  the  government  of  the  union,  and  «R 


438  THE    LIFE    OF 

they  will  generally  carry  the  people  along  with  them,  our 
confederacy  will  be  in  continual  danger  of  dissolution. 

"  This  is  the  real  rock  upon  which  the  happiness  of  this 
country  is  likely  to  split.  This  is  the  point  to  which  our 
fears  and  cares  should  be  directed.  To  guard  against  this, 
and  not  to  terrify  ourselves  with  imaginary  dangers  from 
the  spectre  of  power  in  congress,  will  be  our  true  wisdom." 

He  then  proceeded  to  examine  and  to  vindicate  the 
provisions  of  the  bill  making  the  proposed  grant — pointed 
out  the  habitual  delinquencies  to  the  repeated  requisitions 
— the  small  amount  of  the  general  revenue  collected — the 
hostility  of  the  adjacent  states — the  increased  burden  im- 
posed on  New- York  by  the  inequality  of  the  existing  sys- 
tem— the  beneficial  consequences  of  a  national  revenue — 
the  necessity  of  it  for  the  payment  of  the  foreign  debt. 
Having  dwelt  upon  these  topics,  which  compelled  a  large 
survey  of  the  state  of  the  country,  he  closed  with  the  fol- 
lowing remarks :  "  Can  our  national  character  be  preserved 
without  paying  our  debts  ?  Can  the  union  subsist  without 
revenue  ?  Have  you  realized  the  consequences  which 
would  attend  its  dissolution  ?  If  these  states  are  not  united 
under  a  federal  government,  they  will  infallibly  have  wars 
with  each  other,  and  their  divisions  will  subject  them  to 
all  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  influence  and  intrigue.  The 
human  passions  will  never  want  objects  of  hostility.  The 
western  territory  is  an  obvious  and  fruitful  source  of  con- 
test. Let  us  also  cast  our  eye  upon  the  map  of  this  state, 
intersected  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  by  a  large 
navigable  river.  In  the  event  of  a  rupture  with  them, 
what  is  to  hinder  our  metropolis  from  becoming  a  prey  to 
our  neighbours  ?  Is  it  even  supposable  that  they  would 
suffer  it  to  remain  the  nursery  of  wealth  to  a  distinct  com- 
munity ?  These  subjects  are  delicate,  but  it  is  necessary 
to  contemplate  them,  to  teach  us  to  form  a  true  estimate 
of  our  situation.  Wars  with  each  other  beget  standing 


HAMILTON.  439 

armies — a  source  of  more  real  danger  to  our  liberties  than 
all  the  power  that  could  be  conferred  upon  the  representa- 
tives of  the  union  ;  and  wars  with  each  other  would  lead 
to  opposite  alliances  with  foreign  powers,  and  plunge  us 
into  all  the  labyrinths  of  European  politics. 

"  The  Romans,  in  their  progress  to  universal  dominion, 
when  they  conceived  the  project  of  subduing  the  refrac- 
tory spirit  of  the  Grecian  republics  which  composed  the 
famous  Achaean  league,  began  by  sowing  dissensions 
among  them,  and  instilling  jealousies  of  each  other  and  of 
the  common  head  ;  and  finished  by  making  them  a  pro- 
vince of  the  Roman  empire.  The  application  is  easy.  If 
there  are  any  foreign  enemies,  if  there  are  any  domestic 
foes  to  this  country,  all  their  arts,  all  their  artifices  will  be 
employed  to  effect  a  dissolution  of  the  union.  This  can- 
not be  better  done  than  by  sowing  jealousies  of  the  federal 
head,  and  cultivating  in  each  state  an  undue  attachment  to 
its  own  power." 

The  statements  given  by  persons  yet  living,  and  in 
the  gazettes  of  that  day,  show  the  impression  produced 
upon  the  public  opinion  on  this  occasion.  The  speech 
was  received  and  perused  with  very  great  interest.  "  I 
well  remember,"  Chancellor  Kent  observes,  "  how  much 
it  was  admired  for  the  comprehensive  views  which  it 
took  of  the  state  of  the  nation — the  warm  appeals  which 
it  made  to  the  public  patriotism — the  imminent  perils  which 
it  pointed  out,  and  the  absolute  necessity  which  it  showed 
of  some  such  financial  measure  to  rescue  the  nation  from 
utter  ruin  and  disgrace." 

The  importance  of  the  question,  and  the  expectation  of 
an  animated  discussion,  had  called  together  most  of  the 
distinguished  men  of  the  state,  who  awaited  with  anxiety 
the  decision  of  the  house.  On  taking  the  final  vote,  there 
appeared  in  favour  of  the  impost,  twenty-one,  against  it, 
thirty-six  members. 


440  THE    LIFE    OF 

To  this  address  there  was  no  reply.  The  opposition 
neither  attempted  to  justify  their  votes  on  this  momentous 
question  by  argument,  nor  to  invalidate  the  cogent  elo- 
quence of  Hamilton.  It  was  put  down  by  a  silent  vote, 
which  led  to  the  remark,  "  that  the  impost  was  strangled 
by  a  band  of  mutes"* 

One  other  subject  remained,  of  great  importance  and 
perplexity  in  any  issue  of  events,  whether  New- York 
were  to  become  an  independent  commonwealth,  which  she 
could  not  have  long  remained,  or  whether  the  union  should 
be  preserved.  It  was  the  long-agitated  question  of  the 
New-Hampshire  grants,  or  state  of  Vermont  as  it  was  then 
called,  although  not  recognised  by  the  confederation. 

The  letter  of  Hamilton  to  Governor  Clinton,  on  his  re- 
tirement from  congress  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
three,  stated  the  little  probability  of  an  adjustment  of  that 
question  by  any  other  means  than  by  a  federal  court.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  district  of  country  in  dispute,  had  since 
that  period  been  increasing  in  numbers,  and  it  had  at  last 
become  obvious,  that  the  only  possible  mode  by  which 
New- York  could  maintain  her  jurisdiction,  must  be  by  a 
resort  to  force. 

The  continuance  of  the  controversy  had  embittered  the 

*  Chancellor  Livingston  wrote  to  Hamilton  on  the  5th  of  March,  1787 : 
"  I  received  your  information  relative  to  the  law  for  dividing  the  district.     1 
am  much  obliged  by  your  attention  to  that  subject.     While  I  condole  with 
you  on  the  loss  of  the  impost,  I  congratulate  you  on  the  laurels  you  acquired 
in  fighting  its  battles.     I  shall  endeavour  to  make  myself  here  useful  by  ef- 
fecting some  changes  in  the  representation.     I  expect  this  will  produce  some 
attack  on  me,  or  my  salary.     All  I  expect  from  my  friends,  will  be,  that  they 
do  not  suffer  such  exertions  to  be  made  as  will  be  dishonourable  to  me.*    A 
liberal  and  honourable  appointment,  such  as  would  enable  me  to  live  as  I 
would  wish  constantly  in  New- York,  I  cannot  expect  from  the  prevailing 
party." 

*  The  attack  was  made,  but  was  defeated  by  "his  friends."    Hamilton  moved  the  highest 
mm.     He  soon  after  this  framed  a  law,  which  passed,  for  the  adjustment  of  the  title  of  the 
Oneida  purchase,  affecting  a  very  huge  portion  of  the  state. 


HAMILTON.  441 

angry  feelings  of  the  disputants.  The  ruling  party  in  New- 
York  had  committed  themselves  with  her  citizens  on  this 
subject ;  and  while  their  domestic  interests,  the  exposure  of 
her  frontier,  the  avoidance  of  a  civil  war,  all  combined  to 
render  an  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  Ver- 
mont unavoidable,  not  an  individual,  since  Schuyler  had 
failed  in  his  efforts  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty,  had 
acquired  sufficient  influence  in  the  legislature  to  carry  with 
him  the  public  mind.  The  situation  of  Clinton  in  reference 
to  this  subject  was  not  free  from  embarrassment. 

The  question  of  territorial  jurisdiction  commenced  in 
the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-nine,  when  Governor 
Wentworth  made  the  grant  of  Bennington.  It  continued 
to  be  a  source  of  difficulty  between  the  governors  of  New- 
Hampshire  and  New- York,  and  was  rendered  more  intri- 
cate by  the  conflicting  orders  of  the  privy  council  of  Great 
Britain,  until  near  the  period  of  the  revolution,  when  the 
people  of  Vermont  determined  upon  open  resistance. 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-two,  conventions  of 
the  different  towns  were  held,  and  were  renewed  at  inter- 
vals, which  passed  resolves,  forbidding  the  inhabitants  of 
the  "  grants  "  from  accepting  titles,  holding  offices  from,  or 
acting  under  the  authority  of  New- York,  and  enforced 
their  resolves  with  extreme  severity. 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-four,  under  the  royal 
government,  Clinton  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  New- York  assembly,  which  reported  various 
resolutions,  reciting  the  violence  of  the  grantees,  denoun- 
cing their  leaders,  and  recommending  a  proclamation  for 
their  apprehension,  which  was  issued  by  Governor  Tryon. 
A  counter  proclamation  from  Ethan  Allen,  and  others  of 
the  proscribed,  announced  their  determination  to  "resist 
unto  blood."  This  state  of  things  continued  until  the  as- 
sembling of  the  continental  congress,  when,  encouraged  by 
the  exploit  of  Allen  at  Ticonderoga,  the  "revolters"  pe- 

56 


442  THE   LIFE   OP 

titioned  that  body,  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  do 
military  duty  as  inhabitants  of"  the  grants,"  and  not  of  New- 
York,  and  asked  commissions  to  that  effect.  Congress  re- 
commended to  them  in  reply,  to,  submit  to  New- York,  and 
to  contribute  their  assistance,  but  without  prejudice  to  their 
rights. 

Thus  situated,  on  the  twenty- fourth  of  July,  seventeen 
hundred  and  seventy-six,  independence  having  been  de- 
clared, a  convention  assembled,  which,  after  two  adjourn- 
ments, met  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  January,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven,  and  proclaimed  themselves  a 
state. 

In  this  altered  position,  Clinton,  recently  elected  govern- 
or of  New- York,  by  withdrawing  the  penalties  of  the  proc- 
lamation, and  by  overtures  to  confirm  the  titles  to  the  lands 
actually  occupied,  sought  to  sooth  their  discontents ;  but 
Allen,  suspecting  the  policy  of  New- York,  with  inflexible 
determination,  immediately  prepared  a  force  to  suppress 
an  organization  which  was  forming  to  oppose  the  recently 
claimed  supremacy  of  his  state.  Clinton,  thus  driven  from 
his  purpose  of  conciliation,  openly  took  the  ground  that 
the  authority  of  Vermont  should  in  no  instance  be  acknow- 
ledged, except  in  the  alternative  of  submission  or  inevita- 
ble ruin.  An  appeal  was  then  made  to  congress,  and  in 
the  mean  time,  an  union  of  the  eastern  and  western  dis- 
tricts of  Vermont  was  consummated. 

All  hope  of  peaceable  adjustment  was  by  this  act  at  an 
end,  and  the  alternative  of  force  was  brought  distinctly 
before  the  councils  of  New- York.  The  umpirage  of  con- 
gress, probably  not  sought  sincerely  by  either  party,  and 
which,  if  the  decision  had  been  against  Vermont,  would 
have  proved  a  nullity,  was  avoided,  until  New- York  at  last 
became  convinced  that  her  claims  must  be  abandoned. 

.  The  governor,  from  the  course  to  which  he  had  been  so 
conspicuously  committed,  from  the  circumstance  that  the 


HAMILTON.  443 

policy  advised  by  Schuyler  had  been  impeached  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  regardless  of  the  rights  of  the  state, 
and  perhaps  from  an  unwillingness  to  impair  his  own  influ- 
ence, partly  derived  from  his  scrupulous  assertion  of  those 
rights,  was  little  inclined  to  assume  the  open  responsibility 
of  surrendering  so  large  a  portion  of  her  territory. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Hamilton,  whose  popularity 
had  risen  so  high  that  he  was  contemplated  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  office  of  governor,  felt  it  his,  duty  to  come  for- 
ward, and  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  introduced  a  bill  "  to 
authorize  the  delegates  of  New- York  in  congress,  to  accede 
to  and  confirm  the  independence  and  sovereignty  of  the 
people  inhabiting  the  district  of  country  commonly  called 
Vermont." 

On  presenting  the  bill,  he  made  a  few  observations,  of 
which  a  brief  sketch  was  published  at  the  time,  from  re- 
collection, giving  an  interesting  view  of  the  urgent  mo- 
tives which  prompted  the  measure.* 

The  great  extent  of  disputed  territory  which  was  own- 
ed by  the  inhabitants  of  the  state  of  New- York,  had  crea- 
ted a  very  powerful  opposition  to  it.  A  meeting  of  those 
having  the  largest  interest  in  the  question  was  held,  and 
after  frequent  consultations,  it  was  determined  to  make  a 
strong  appeal  to  the  legislature.  After  much  deliberation, 
the  opponents  of  the  bill  resolved  to  apply  to  the  assembly 
to  be  heard  by  counsel  at  the  bar  of  the  house,  a  mode  of 
proceeding  which,  though  of  frequent  occurrence  before 
the  British  parliament,  is  believed  to  have  been  entirely 
novel  in  New- York. 

The  gentleman  solicited  to  perform  this  duty  was  Rich- 
ard Harrison,  a  lawyer  and  a  scholar,  distinguished  for  his 
ability,  and  learning,  and  probity.  The  bill  was  objected 

*  Vermont  had  raised  troops,  and  declared,  that  if  no  decision  were  pro- 
nounced by  congress  within  two  months  after  nine  states  had  met,  that  she 
would  resort  to  force. 


444  THE    LIFE    OF 

to  by  him,  as  unconstitutional,  impolitic,  and  destructive 
to  the  property  of  the  citizens. 

As  the  constitution  had  expressly  declared  the  counties  of 
Cumberland,  Gloucester,  and  Charlotte,  which  embraced 
the  territory  proposed  to  be  ceded,  as  parts  of  the  state, 
it  was  urged  that  the  legislature  could  not  sever  them  from 
it — that  such  a  power  had  not  been  delegated  to  them — 
that,  if  delegated,  it  must  have  been  to  congress  as  the  ar- 
biters of  peace  and  war — that  such  a  dismemberment 
was  only  authorized  by  a  case  of  extreme  necessity,  which 
was  alleged  not  to  exist.  The  presumption  of  danger  from 
subsisting  connections  between  Vermont  and  Canada,  was 
denied.  If  it  existed,  where  was  the  proof?  The  danger 
of  the  example  of  permitting  a  revolt  of  these  counties 
was  enlarged  upon,  and  arguments  were  adduced  to  show 
that  no  public  advantage,  either  in  respect  to  revenue  or 
other  effects,  would  be  derived  from  the  admission  of 
Vermont  into  the  confederacy.  The  address  W7as  conclu- 
ded with  an  earnest  exposition  of  the  rights  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  these  lands  to  be  indemnified  by  the  state,  and  a 
suggestion  of  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  treat 
with  the  revolters. 

Hamilton's  reply  is  among  the  most  able  fragments 
of  his  eloquence  which  have  been  preserved.  It  fully 
met  the  objection  to  the  act,  which  was  drawn  from 
that  great  principle  of  the  social  compact,  that  the 
chief  object  of  government  is  to  protect  the  rights  of  indi- 
viduals by  the  united  strength  of  the  community  ;  insisting 
that  the  efforts  of  a  state  were  to  be  "  proportioned  to  its 
abilities,  warranted  by  a  reasonable  expectation  of  a 
favourable  issue,  and  compatible  with  its  eventual  security ; 
but  that  it  was  not  bound  to  enter  into  or  prosecute  enter- 
prises of  a  manifest  rashness  and  folly,  or  which  in  the 
event  of  success  would  be  productive  of  more  mischief 
than  good."  He  then  reviewed  the  pretensions  of  Ver- 


HAMILTON.  445 

raont,  and  contrasted  her  power  to  resist  with  that  of 
New- York  to  enforce  these  territorial  claims. 

From  this  topic  he  passed  on  to  an  examination  of  the 
constitutionality  of  the  bill,  asserting  that  the  power  of 
dismembering  the  state,  under  certain  circumstances,  was 
a  necessary  appendage  of  its  sovereignty.  Instances  of 
such  dismemberments  were  referred  to,  and  the  writers  on 
international  law  were  quoted  to  establish  the  right  "  to 
lop  off  a  limb  for  the  good  of  the  body."  From  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  right,  he  proceeded  to  a  review  of  the  policy 
of  this  measure ;  in  the  course  of  which,  he  adduced  facts 
to  show  that  Vermont  had  borne  such  relations  to  Great 
Britain  during  the  revolution  as  to  justify  the  belief,  that, 
should  a  collision  arise,  she  would  receive  aid  from  their 
recent  enemy. 

The  remaining  questions  were,  how  far  New- York  had 
a  right  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  Vermont,  and 
how  far  she  was  bound  to  make  compensation  to  the  own- 
ers of  the  disputed  territory.  He  urged  the  actual  inde- 
pendence of  Vermont  as  an  answer  to  the  first  inquiry ; 
stated,  that  as  to  territorial  claims,  the  confederacy  pro- 
vided a  tribunal  for  their  adjustment ;  and  insisted  that  the 
state  was  not  under  a  strict  obligation  to  make  compensa- 
tion to  the  losing  proprietors.  "  The  distinction,"  he  said, 
"is  this — if  a  government  voluntarily  bargains  away  the 
rights,  or  dispossesses  itself  of  the  property  of  its  citizens 
in  their  enjoyments,  possessions,  or  power,  it  is  bound  to 
make  compensation  for  that  of  which  it  has  deprived  them  ; 
but  if  they  are  actually  dispossessed  of  those  rights  or  that 
property  by  the  casualties  of  war,  or  by  revolution,  the 
state,  if  the  public  good  requires  it,  may  abandon  them  to 
the  loss  without  being  obliged  to  make  reparation." 

"  In  wars  between  states,  the  sovereign  is  never  supposed 
to  be  bound  to  make  good  the  losses  which  the  subject 
sustains  by  the  captures  or  ravages  of  the  enemy,  though 


446  THE    LIFE    OP 

they  should  amount  to  the  destruction  of  his  whole  pro- 
perty ;  and  yet  nothing  can  be  more  agreeable  to  natural 
equity  than  that  those  who  happen  to  be  the  unlucky  vic- 
tims of  the  war  should  be  indemnified  by  the  community." — 
"  But  in  practice  such  a  principle  would  be  found  attended 
with  endless  difficulties  and  inconveniences  ;  and  there- 
fore the  reverse  of  it  has  been  adopted  as  a  general  rule. 
The  true  reason  is,  the  resources  of  nations  are  not  ade.- 
quate  to  the  reparation  of  such  extensive  losses  as  those 
which  are  commonly  occasioned  by  wars  and  revolutions, 
and  it  would,  therefore,  be  contrary  to  the  general  good 
of  society  to  establish  it  as  a  rule  that  there  is  a  strict  ob- 
ligation to  repay  such  losses.  It  is  better  there  should  be 
individual  sufferings,  than  to  admit  a  rule  which  would 
fetter  the  operations  of  government,  and  distress  the  affairs 
of  the  community.  Generosity  and  policy  may,  in  parti- 
cular instances,  dictate  such  compensations.  Sometimes 
they  have  been  made  by  nations,  but  much  oftener  omitted. 
The  propriety  of  doing  the  one  or  the  other  must  depend 
on  circumstances  in  which  the  ability  of  the  public  will 
always  be  a  primary  consideration." 

As  to  the  examples  derived  from  Roman  magnanimity, 
he  remarked : — "  Neither  the  manner  nor  the  genius  of 
Rome  are  suited  to  the  republic  or  age  we  live  in.  All 
her  maxims  and  habits  were  military — her  government 
was  constituted  for  war.  Ours  is  unfit  for  it ;  and  our  situa- 
tion, still  less  than  our  constitution,  invites  us  to  emulate 
the  conduct  of  Rome,  or  to  attempt  a  display  of  unprofita- 
ble heroism." — "  One  more  observation  will,"  he  said,  "  con- 
clude what  I  have  to  say.  The  present  situation  of  our 
national  affairs  appears  to  me  peculiarly  critical.  I  know 
not  what  may  be  the  result  of  the  disordered  state  of  gov- 
ernment. I  am,  therefore,  the  more  solicitous  to  guard 
against  danger  from  abroad.  Gentlemen  who  view  our 
public  affairs  in  the  same  light  in  which  they  present  them- 


HAMILTON.  447 

selves  to  my  mind,  will,  I  trust,  vote  with  me  upon  the 
present  occasion.  Those,  on  the  contrary,  who  think  all  is 
well,  who  suppose  our  government  is  full  of  energy,  our 
credit  high,  our  trade  and  finances  flourishing,  will  proba- 
bly see  no  room  for  any  anxiety  about  the  matter,  and 
may  be  disposed  to  leave  Vermont  in  its  present  state.  If 
the  bill  should  fail,  I  hope  they  never  will  have  occasion 
to  regret  the  opportunity  they  have  lost." 

At  the  end  of  this  speech,  the  question  was  taken,  and 
the  bill  recognising  the  independence  of  Vermont,  on  the 
condition  of  her  entering  into  the  confederacy,  passed. 
By  this  well-timed  measure  a  civil  war  was  prevented,  and 
another  state  soon  after  became  a  member  of  the  union. 


448  THE    LIFE    OP 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

[1787.] 

THE  vote  of  the  New- York  legislature  on  the  impost 
decided  the  fate  of  the  confederation.  The  only  hope  of 
preserving  an  union  of  the  states  rested  upon  the  issue  of 
the  contemplated  convention. 

The  assembly  of  Virginia  being  the  first  state  legisla- 
ture in  session  after  the  adjournment  of  the  commissioners 
at  Annapolis,  passed  an  act  in  October  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  seven  commissioners  to  meet  at  Philadelphia,  and 
to  join  with  the  deputies  of  the  other  states,  "  in  devising 
and  discussing  such  alterations  as  may  be  necessary  to 
render  the  federal  constitution  adequate  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  times."  New-Jersey  was  the  second  to  act  on  this 
subject,  appointing  commissioners  on  the  twenty-third  of 
November,  with  powers  similar  to  those  previously  grant- 
ed by  her.  Pennsylvania  chose  delegates  with  like  pow- 
ers on  the  thirtieth  of  the  succeeding  month. 

The  report  from  Annapolis  was  submitted  to  congress 
soon  after  its  date  ;  but  a  determined  opposition  being 
made  to  the  proposed  convention,  on  the  ground  of  its 
illegality,  it  was  not  acted  upon  :  thus,  tenacity  of  power 
grows  with  conscious  weakness.  When  the  legislature 
of  Massachusetts  assembled,  Governor  Bowdoin,  still  zeal- 
ous for  this  great  measure,  sent  them  a  message,  in  which, 
after  a  mention  of  the  reasons  that  had  induced  the  meeting 
at  Annapolis  to  adjourn,  he  again  declared  his  conviction 
of  the  importance  of  amending  the  confederation.  Its 


HAMILTON.  449 

delegates  to  congress  then  appeared,  and  explained  the  mo- 
tives by  which  they  had  been  actuated. 

King  observed — "  that  the  report  of  the  commercial 
convention  was  before  congress.  Doubts  had  arisen  as 
to  the  mode  of  agreeing  upon  commercial  regulations. 
The  confederation  was  the  act  of  the  people.  No  part 
could  be  altered  but  by  consent  of  congress  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  several  legislatures.  Congress,  therefore,  ought 
to  make  the  examination  first ;  because,  if  it  was  done  by 
a  convention,  no  legislature  could  have  a  right  to  confirm 
it.  Did  any  legislature  sit  for  such  a  purpose  ?  No.  It 
must  be  referred  to  the  people,  and  then  what  degree  of 
assent  was  necessary  to  make  it  an  article  of  the  confede- 
ration ?  Whereas  if  it  was  conducted  agreeably  to  the  con- 
federation, no  such  difficulty  could  exist.  Besides,  if  con- 
gress should  not  agree  upon  a  report  of  a  convention,  the 
most  fatal  consequences  might  follow.  Congress  were, 
therefore,  the  proper  body  to  make  alterations." 

After  adverting  to  the  efforts  of  the  several  states,  he 
remarked,  that  not  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars  had 
been  received  from  them  in  the  last  two  years ;  that  "  it 
had  become  a  subject  of  admiration  how  government  ex- 
isted ;  that  so  melancholy  was  the  state  of  the  federal 
treasury,  that  all  men  seemed  to  turn  away  from  it  as  an 
evil  which  admitted  of  no  remedy.  If  all  the  states  could 
be  brought  into  the  continental  impost,  this  resource  might 
be  anticipated,  and  the  national  credit  strengthened  in  that 
way  ;  but  there  remained  two  states  which  had  not  acced- 
ed to  it — Pennsylvania  and  New- York.  The  situation 
of  the  former  was  known,  and  should  that  state  comply, 
as  there  were  some  grounds  to  hope  and  expect,  the  dan- 
ger of  the  union,  and  the  love  which  New-York  must  enter- 
tain for  the  confederation,  must  induce  their  accession  to 
the  system."  He  closed  his  observations  with  a  strong 
comment  on  the  existing  commotions  in  Massachusetts, 

57 


450  THE    LIFE   OP 

suggesting  the  probability  that  congress  would  make  exer- 
tions to  suppress  them.  Dana,  another  delegate,  concur- 
red in  these  views.  Their  speeches  were  published,  and 
as  no  measures  were  taken  for  the  appointment  of  a  dele- 
gation to  Philadelphia,  great  apprehensions  were  enter- 
tained by  the  advocates  of  a  general  convention,  that  their 
efforts  would  be  rendered  fruitless  by  the  dissent  of  this 
leading  member  of  the  confederacy. 

The  hesitation  of  Massachusetts  lent  a  sanction  to  the 
policy  of  the  governor  of  New- York.  There  was  in  the 
constitution  of  that  state  an  energy  the  more  imposing,  as 
contrasted  with  the  weakness  of  the  confederacy.  This 
energy  had  been  increased  by  a  perverted  construction  of 
his  powers,  which  concentrated  the  whole  disposal  of  office 
in  the  chief  magistrate. 

The  new  congress  met  in  the  city  of  New- York  on  the 
second  of  February,  three  months  of  its  term  having  ex- 
pired, and  elected  General  St.  Clair  as  their  president. 
Though  without  prerogative  or  patronage,  that  officer  was 
understood  to  represent  in  his  person  the  majesty  of  the 
nation.  The  appropriations  and  the  ceremonial  of  his 
household  all  indicated  such  to  have  been  the  intention  of 
congress. 

In  the  same  public  hall  was  seen  Clinton,  exhibiting  all 
the  authority  of  his  office  and  his  influence  over  an  obedi- 
ent legislature.  The  effect  on  the  common  mind  of  with- 
holding those  observances  which  custom  has  connected 
with  high  station,  was  well  understood  by  Clinton:  a 
marked  and  studied  neglect  was  manifested  by  him  towards 
congress,  as  though  he  wished  them  to  be  regarded  rather 
as  intruders  upon  a  sovereign  state,  than  as  the  COUNCIL 
OP  THE  NATION.  Yet  he  at  the  same  time  avowed  the 
opinion,  that  the  articles  of  the  confederation  were  equal 
to  the  objects  of  the  union,  or  with  little  alteration  could 
be  made  so,  and  that  the  deputies  to  Annapolis  ought  to 


HAMILTON.  451 

have  confined  themselves  to  the  expressed  purpose  of  their 
errand. 

New- York  gave  the  most  prominent  adversary  and  ad- 
vocate of  the  union.  The  more  obstinate  the  opposition 
of  Clinton  to  enlarged  views  of  the  interests  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  the  more  zealous  and  determined  were  the  ex- 
ertions of  Hamilton.  All  the  influence  of  his  attractive 
manners  and  generous  hospitality  was  now  seen.  He  min- 
gled daily  with  the  members  of  the  federal  government ; 
his  house  was  their  constant  resort ;  his  conversation  was 
full  of  the  great  theme  of  a  more  perfect  union ;  and  with 
earnest  argument  and  wit  he  exposed  the  inconsistency  of 
men  who  refused  to  confer  upon  congress  an  adequate 
fiscal  power,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  a  single  body  with- 
out checks,  and  yet  would  seek  to  thwart  every  effort  to 
constitute  it  differently.  Having  thus  prepared  the  minds 
of  that  assembly,*  he  hoped  that  their  sanction  of  the  pro- 
posed convention,  so  long  withheld,  might  be  obtained. 

Though  a  president  had  been  elected,  nine  states  were 
not  represented  in  congress  until  the  fourteenth  of  Feb- 
ruary. The  next  day  Hamilton  delivered  his  speech  upon 
the  impost,  in  the  presence  of  many  of  its  members,  who 
saw  the  mute  vote  rejecting  it  recorded. 

It  is  the  part  of  genius  to  select  the  moment  to  achieve 
its  high  purposes  ;  and  the  day  after  this  vote,  notice  was 
given  of  an  intended  motion  for  an  instruction  to  congress 
to  recommend  the  call  of  a  convention.  Its  object  was 
stated  to  be  that  "  of  revising  the  articles  of  confederation 
and  perpetual  union,  by  such  alterations  and  amendments 
as  a  majority  of  the  representatives  shall  judge  proper  and 
necessary,  to  render  them  adequate  to  the  preservation 
and  government  of  the  union." 

*  Speaking  subsequently  of  a  leading  individual,  who  commenced  his  ca- 
reer as  an  earnest  opponent  of  a  national  system,  Hamilton  remarked  to  a 
friend — "  I  revolutionized  his  mind." 


452  THE    LIFE    OF 

This  motion  was  brought  forward  on  the  seventeenth, 
and  being  so  modified,  at  the  instance  of  the  leader  of 
Clinton's  party  in  the  assembly,  as  to  omit  the  words,  "  a 
majority,"  and  to  substitute  that  of  "  support"  for  "  govern- 
ment," was  agreed  to.  After  the  interval  of  a  day,  this 
instruction  was  laid  before  the  senate,  and  it  was  ordered 
to  be  postponed.  Of  Clinton's  majority  in  that  branch,  the 
most  prominent  persons  were  Haring  and  Yates.*  Gen- 
eral1 Schuyler  led  the  opposition.  His  weight  of  character 
would  have  been  insufficient  to  carry  this  important  reso- 
lution, but  for  the  urgent  circumstances  of  the  moment. 
Some  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion  in  Massachusetts  had 
taken  refuge  in  New- York.  On  the  day  this  resolution 
was  laid  before  the  senate,  Schuyler  moved  that  a  procla- 
mation should  be  issued  for  their  apprehension.  The  fears 
of  congress  were  also  aroused,  and  on  the  same  day  a  re- 
port then  in  progress,  deferring  the  enlistment  of  federal 
troops,  was  postponed.  Alarmed  for  the  quiet  of  the  state, 
the  senate  on  the  following  day, "  after  considerable  debate, 
by  a  majority  of  one  vote,  concurred  in  the  proposed  in- 
struction." 

To  anticipate  intrigue  and  gain  the  advantage  of  this 
momentary  alarm,  Hamilton's  report  from  Annapolis  was 
called  up  in  congress  the  next  day.  That  body  was  yet 
undecided.  By  some,  their  sanction  of  the  convention,  it 
was  supposed,  might  stimulate,  by  others  it  was  alleged 
that  it  would  impede,  the  action  of  the  states.  Some  looked 
with  jealousy  at  a  body  so  formed ;  others  doubted  its  con- 
stitutionality. Amid  this  perplexity,  the  instruction  of 
New- York  was  presented  to  them.  Though  supported  by 
the  votes  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  the  recommen- 
dation it  urged  failed,  and  a  resolution  of  a  member  from 
Massachusetts,  after  being  amended,  was  passed.  It  re- 

*  Abraham  Yates. 


HAMILTON.  453 

ferred,  as  a  justification  for  the  proceeding,  to  the  provision 
in  the  articles  of  the  confederation  for  their  alteration  by 
congress,  with  the  assent  of  the  state  legislatures,  and  to 
the  recent  instruction  from  New- York,  and  declaring  that 
it  was  "  the  most  probable  mean  of  establishing  in  these 
states  a  firm  national  government,"  sanctioned  the  contem- 
plated convention.* 

Having  exerted  the  influence  of  New- York  upon  con- 
gress, Hamilton  was  eager  to  derive  the  benefit  of  the  in- 
fluence of  congress  upon  that  state.  Five  days  after,  he 
offered  a  resolution  in  the  assembly,  conforming  to  the  re- 
commendation of  congress,  for  the  appointment  of  five 
commissioners  to  meet  in  convention  at  Annapolis.  This 
resolution  being  agreed  to,  was  laid  before  the  senate  by 
Schuyler.  That  body  did  not  dare  to  reject  it ;  but,  on 
motion  of  Haring,  the  number  was  reduced  from  five  to 
three. 

Yates  then  proposed  to  insert  a  proviso,  that  the  alter- 
ations and  provisions  to  the  articles  of  confederation 
"  should  be  not  repugnant  to,  or  inconsistent  with,  the  con- 
stitution of  this  state"  This  amendment,  so  decisive  of 
the  views  of  Clinton,  was  opposed,  and  was  lost  by  the  vote 
of  the  presiding  officer.! 

The  resolution  then  passed  the  senate,  was  immediately 
concurred  in  by  the  house,  and  on  the  eighth  of  March, 
three  commissioners,  Yates,  Hamilton,  and  Lansing,  were 
appointed — Chief  Justice  Yates  unanimously,  Hamilton 
with  two,  Lansing  with  many  dissenting  voices.  As  the 
rule  of  the  confederation  of  voting  by  states  might  be  adopt- 
ed, and  as  his  colleagues  were  in  the  views  of  Clinton, 
Hamilton  proposed,  near  the  end  of  the  session,  to  add  two 
delegates.  He  observed,  "  I  think  it  proper  to  apprise  the 

*  February  21, 1787. 

t  Senate  Journal  of  New- York,  p.  44-5,  February  28, 1787. 


454  THE   LIFE   OF 

house,  of  the  gentlemen  on  some  of  whom  I  wish  their 
choice  to  fall,  and  with  a  view  to  which  I  bring  forward 
the  present  motion.  Their  abilities  and  experience  in  the 
general  affairs  of  the  country  cannot  but  be  useful  on  such 
an  occasion.  I  mean  Mr.  Chancellor  Livingston,  Mr.  Du- 
ane,  Mr.  Benson,  and  Mr.  Jay ;  the  particular  situation  of 
the  latter,  may  require  an  observation.  His  being  a  ser- 
vant of  congress  might  seem  an  objection  to  the  appoint- 
ment ;  but  surely  this  objection,  if  it  had  any  weight,  would 
apply  with  equal  force  to  a  member  of  that  body.  In  the 
case  of  Mr.  Lansing,  the  two  houses  appear  to  have 
thought  there  was  no  force  in  it,  and  I  am  persuaded  there 
can  be  no  reason  to  apply  a  different  rule  to  Mr.  Jay.  His 
knowledge,  abilities,  tried  integrity,  and  abundant  experi- 
ence in  the  affairs  of  the  country,  foreign  and  domestic, 
will  not  permit  us  to  allow  any  weight  to  any  objection 
which  would  imply  a  want  of  confidence  in  a  character  that 
has  every  title  to  the  fullest  confidence." 

This  motion  prevailed  in  the  assembly,  but  was  defeated 
in  the  senate. 

Hamilton  soon  after  proposed  to  fix,  by  law,  the  sessions 
of  the  legislature  alternately  at  Albany  and  New- York, 
hoping  thus  to  counterpoise  their  local  influences,  and  to 
have  it  in  his  power  to  retain  a  seat  in  the  assembly.  It 
being  known  that  his  professional  engagements  would  not 
permit  him  to  sojourn  at  Poughkeepsie,  that  place  was  se- 
lected for  the  meeting  of  the  next  legislature,  and  he  de- 
clined a  re-election. 

The  states  of  Delaware,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia, 
either  not  alive  to,  or  disregarding  the  supposed  constitu- 
tional difficulty,  had  elected  delegates  without  waiting  the 
action  of  congress.  The  address  of  the  Annapolis  con- 
vention was  again  submitted  to  the  legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  it  was  referred  to  a  committee,  whose  report, 
from  the  pen  of  Samuel  Adams,  was  accepted  on  the  same 


HAMILTON.  455 

day  upon  which  the  instructions  of  New- York  were  pro- 
posed to  congress.  The  delegates  were  authorized  to 
"  consider  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
and  how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their  commercial  inter- 
course and  regulations  may  be  necessary  for  their  "com- 
mon interest  and  permanent  harmony ;  and  also  to  consider 
how  far  it  may  be  necessary  to  alter  any  of  the  articles 
of  the  present  confederation,  so  as  to  render  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  federal  government  more  adequate  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  union  ;  and  what  further  powers  may  be 
necessary  to  be  vested  in  congress  for  the  common  wel- 
fare and  security,  and  with  them  to  form  a  report  for  that 
purpose :  such  alterations  and  additions  as  may  be  made, 
to  be,  however,  consistent  with  the  republican  spirit  and 
genius  of  the  present  articles  of  confederation,  provided 
that  the  said  commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  common- 
wealth are  hereby  particularly  instructed  by  no  means 
to  interfere  with  the  fifth  article  of  the  confederation, 
which  provides  for  the  annual  election  of  delegates  in 
congress,  with  a  power  reserved  to  each  state  to  recall  its 
delegates,  or  any  of  them,  within  the  year ;  and  which  also 
provides  that  no  person  shall  be  capable  of  being  a  dele- 
gate for  more  than  three  years  in  any  term  of  six  years, 
or,  being  a  delegate,  shall  be  capable  of  holding  any  office 
under  the  United  States,  for  which  he,  or  any  other  for 
his  benefit,  should  receive  any  salary,  fees,  or  emoluments 
of  any  kind."  This  embarrassing  restriction  was  removed 
in  consequence  of  the  recent  resolution  of  congress,  and, 
on  the  ninth  of  April,  five  deputies  were  commissioned 
with  powers  conforming  to  that  resolution.* 

*  On  the  7th  of  January,  1787,  King,  after  speaking  of  the  calamitous 
events  which  threatened  the  country,  wrote  to  Gerry  from  New- York :  "  You 
have  seen  the  Virginia  law  for  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  a  convention 
in  Philadelphia  in  May. 

"  General  Washington,  Wythe,  Randolph,  Madison,  and  others,  are  ap- 


456  THE    LIFE    OP 

The  legislature  of  Connecticut  assembled  in  May.  The 
proposition  for  a  convention  was  warmly  opposed,  but  was 
sustained  with  ability,  and  prevailed.  Late  in  June,  New- 
Hampshire  also  chose  delegates,  and  thus  all  the  states 
were  represented  with  one  exception,  Rhode  Island  having 
refused  to  co-operate  in  this  great  measure. 

As  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  was  a  deliberate 
act  of  the  people,  and  was  formed  in  reference  to  their  ex- 
perience of  the  evils  of  a  mere  college  of  states,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  advert  briefly  to  the  progress  of  American 
experiment  in  its  advances  towards  that  result. 

The  confederation  of  the  New-England  colonies,  of  the 
year  sixteen  hundred  and  forty-three,  was  the  first  effort 
towards  an  union  of  the  provinces.  It  was  a  league  offen- 
sive and  defensive  to  provide  against  impending  wars, 
committing  to  an  annual  congress  of  two  delegates  from 
each  colony  the  duty  of  deliberating  upon  all  matters  of 
peace  and  common  concern ;  the  results  of  which  delibera- 
tions were  binding  upon  the  confederacy,  if  three-fourths 
of  its  members  concurred. 

This  compact  continued  forty  years;  after  its  dissolu- 

pointed  for  that  convention.  Pennsylvania  has  appointed  Mifflin,  the  two 
Morris's,  Fitzsimmons,  and  three  others,  on  the  part  of  that  state.  Hamil- 
ton, who  is  a  member  of  the  assembly  of  this  state,  will  exert  himself  to  in- 
duce them  to  send  members ;  Jay,  and  others,  are  opposed  to  the  measure, 
not  alone  because  it  is  unauthorized,  but  from  an  opinion  that  the  result  will 
prove  inefficacious.  General  Washington  will  not  attend.  *  *  *  *  If  Mas- 
sachusetts should  send  deputies,  for  God's  sake  be  careful  who  are  the  men ; 
the  times  are  becoming  critical ;  a  movement  of  this  nature  ought  to  be  care- 
fully observed  by  every  member  of  the  community."  He  subsequently 
wrote :  "  Do  you  attend  the  legislature  ?  How  will  they  stand  on  the  plan 
of  a  convention  at  Philadelphia  ?  For  a  number  of  reasons,  although  my 
sentiments  are  the  same  as  to  the  legality  of  this  measure,  I  think  we  ought 
not  to  oppose,  but  to  coincide  with  this  project.  Let  the  appointments  be 
numerous,  and,  if  possible,  let  the  men  have  a  good  knowledge  of  the  con- 
stitutions and  various  interests  of  the  several  states,  and  of  the  good  and  bad 
qualities  of  the  confederation."— Feb.  11,  1787.  Life  of  Gerry. 


HAMILTON.  457 

tion,  congresses  were  held  at  different  times  to  consult 
upon  measures  of  common  interest,  the  most  important  of 
which,  was  that  of  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  con- 
vened at  the  instance  of  the  parent  country,  to  prepare  for 
the  contingencies  of  a  war  with  France. 

This  congress,  having  more  enlarged  views  than  its  pre- 
decessors, resolved  "  that  an  union  of  the  colonies  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  their  preservation,"  and  proposed  a 
plan  of  federal  government,  consisting  of  a  general  coun- 
cil of  delegates  to  be  tri-annually  chosen  by  the  provincial 
assemblies,  and  a  president-general  to  be  appointed  by  the 
crown.  In  this  council  were  to  be  invested,  subject  to 
the  ultimate  negative  of  the  king,  the  rights  of  war  and 
peace  with  the  Indian  tribes,  the  power  of  raising  troops, 
building  forts,  equipping  vessels  of  war,  and  of  making 
laws  and  laying  and  levying  general  duties,  imposts,  and 
taxes  for  those  purposes.  This  projected  union  was  dis- 
approved, not  only  by  the  crown,  but  by  each  colonial 
assembly,  from  mutual  jealousy. 

A  congress  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  Great  Britain, 
assembled,  at  the  instance  of  Massachusetts,  in  seventeen 
hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  digested  a  bill  of  rights,  in 
which  the  sole  power  of  taxation  was  declared  to  reside  in 
their  own  colonial  legislatures.  This  assemblage  was  the 
precursor  of  that  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-four, 
which  concerted  the  opposition  that  terminated  in  the  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States.  Its  authority  was  dis- 
cretionary and  unlimited,  until  defined  by  the  articles  of 
confederation,  which  have  formed  so  prominent  a  topic  as 
to  render  a  further  exposition  of  them  unnecessary. 

This  succinct  statement  shows  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  plan  of  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-four,  which,  had 
it  been  carried  into  effect,  might  have  terminated  in  a  sys- 
tem modelled  upon  that  of  Great  Britain,  no  approxima- 
tion to  a  general  government  had  been  made.  Nothing 

58 


458  THE    LIFE    OF 

more  had  been  contemplated  beyond  the  delegation  of  au- 
thority for  purposes  of  common  defence,  under  a  joint 
commission,  to  a  general  deputation  of  the  colonies. 

The  first  elective  governments,  in  their  proper  accepta- 
tion, were  those  formed  in  each  colony  under  the  recom- 
mendation of  congress  ;  and  of  these,  the  earliest  was  that 
of  New-Hampshire,  established  in  January,  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six ;  and  the  latest,  that  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty. 

Though  these  state  constitutions  varied  in  many  particu- 
lars, they  show  a  general  concurrence  of  opinion  through- 
out America,  in  some  essential  points.  Most  of  them  di- 
vided the  legislature  into  two  branches,  and  established  a 
judiciary,  to  hold  during  good  behaviour.  The  most  pro- 
minent defect,  was  the  constitution  of  the  executive  de- 
partment, he  being,  with  few  exceptions,  a  mere  pageant 
and  creature  of  the  legislature,  often  only  forming  part  of 
a  council. 

The  weakness  of  this  department  was  probably  the  re- 
sult of  two  causes ;  the  colonial  governors  appointed  by 
the  crown,  having  been  the  obnoxious  instruments  of  its 
usurpations,  and  these  constitutions  being  formed  at  a  time 
when  the  congress  had  indefinite  powers,  before  the  colo- 
nies  aspired,  as  states,  to  a  rival  sovereignty. 

The  association  of  a  revisionary  council  with  the  execu- 
tive, while  it  diminished  the  responsibility,  lessened  the 
energy,  dignity,  and  independence  of  the  office  ;  and  as  the 
check  of  a  second  branch  of  the  legislature  was  rather 
nominal  than  real,  the  democratic  influence  acquired  a 
large  ascendency. 

The  effect  of  this  on  the  general  councils  of  the  nation 
has  been  indicated.  In  the  local  government  of  such  states 
as  had  fulfilled  their  federal  duties,  the  inequality  caused 
by  the  imperfect  machinery  of  their  fiscal  systems  had 
induced  a  repugnance  to  the  laws.  In  the  delinquent 


HAMILTON.  459 

states,  this  feeling  had  been  increased  by  their  relaxed 
policy. 

The  momentous  problem  was  now  to  be  solved,  whether 
the  affairs  of  this  extensive  confederacy  were  to  be  carried 
on  by  a  halting  compromise  between  public  duties  and  ab- 
stract state  rights,  until  the  union  should  cease,  or  whether 
its  humiliation  and  sufferings  had  prepared  the  public  mind 
for  the  establishment  of  a  vigorous  and  stable  national 
government. 

As  it  may  be  interesting  hereafter  to  advert  to  the  opin- 
ions of  leading  individuals  at  this  eventful  crisis,  they  are 
succinctly  given. 

Jay  was  the  advocate  of  a  government  of  proper  depart- 
ments :  a  governor-general,  limited  in  his  prerogatives  and 
duration ;  an  upper  and  a  lower  house— the  former  ap- 
pointed for  life,  the  latter  annually ;  the  governor-general, 
(to  preserve  the  balance) — with  the  advice  of  a  council, 
formed  for  that  only  purpose  of  the  great  judicial  officers — 
to  have  a  negative  on  their  acts.  "  Our  government,"  he 
said,  "  should,  in  some  degree,  be  suited  to  our  manners  and 
circumstances,  and  they,  you  know,  are  not  strictly  demo- 
cratical."  He  thought  "  the  more  power  that  was  granted 
to  this  government,  the  better,"  the  states  retaining  only 
so  much  as  may  be  necessary  for  domestic  purposes ;  all 
their  principal  officers,  civil  and  military,  being  commission- 
ed and  removable  by  the  national  government,  which  was 
to  derive  its  authority  from  the  people,  the  only  source  of 
just  authority."* 

Knox  was  in  favour  of  a  government  of  three  depart- 
ments :  an  assembly,  chosen  for  one,  two,  or  three  years ; 
a  senate  for  five,  six,  or  seven  ;  the  executive  to  be  chosen 
by  the  legislature  for  seven  years,  liable  to  impeachment  and 
trial  by  the  senate  :  all  national  objects  to  be  designed  and 

*  Jay  to  Washington,  January  7, 1787. 


460  THE    LIFE    OF 

executed  by  the  general  government,  without  any  refer- 
ence to  the  local  governments,  and  its  laws  to  be  enforced 
upon  these  governments  by  a  body  of  armed  men.* 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Madison,  that  it  would  be  well  to 
retain  as  much  as  possible  of  the  old  confederation,  though 
he  doubted  whether  it  might  not  be  better  to  work  the 
valuable  articles  into  the  new  system,  instead  of  engrafting 
the  latter  on  the  former.  He  proposed,  as  the  ground-work, 
a  change  in  the  principle  of  representation,  abolishing  the 
equality  of  suffrage  in  the  national  councils.  In  addition 
to  the  present  federal  powers,  he  would  have  armed  the 
national  government  with  positive  and  complete  authority 
in  all  cases  which  require  uniformity,  and  with  a  negative 
in  all  cases  on  the  legislative  acts  of  the  states,  as  hereto- 
fore exercised  by  the  kingly  prerogative.  This  he  regard- 
ed as  absolutely  necessary,  and  as  the  least  possible  en- 
croachment on  the  state  jurisdictions.  The  national  su- 
premacy also  to  be  extended  to  the  judiciary  department. 
The  officers  administering  the  executive  departments,  ap- 
pointable  by  the  supreme  government.  The  legislature  to 
consist  of  two  branches  :  one  eligible  by  the  people  at  large, 
or  by  the  legislatures,  for  a  limited  period  ;  the  other,  of 
fewer  members,  for  a  longer  term,  ceasing  in  rotation. 
He  thought,  as  a  further  check,  that  a  council  of  revision 
might  be  superadded,  including  the  great  ministerial  officers, 
and  that  a  national  executive  will  also  be  necessary,  but 
said  that  he  had  "  scarcely  ventured  to  form  his  own  opin- 
ion yet,  either  of  the  manner  in  which  it  ought  to  be  con- 
stituted, or  of  the  authorities  with  which  it  ought  to  be 
clothed."f  The  right  of  coercion,  he  further  stated,  should 
be  expressly  declared.  To  obviate  its  exertion,  he  hoped 
the  negative  on  the  state  laws  might  be  sufficient,  or  per- 
haps some  defined  objects  of  taxation  might  be  submitted 

*  Knoxto  Washington,  January  14,  1787. 
t  Madison  to  Washington,  April  16, 1787. 


HAMILTON.  461 

along  with  commerce  to  the  general  authority.  The  sys- 
tem to  be  ratified  by  the  people. 

In  the  sketch  of  Hamilton's  early  life,  his  progressive 
opinions  on  this  subject  have  been  shown.  In  his  anony- 
mous letter  to  Robert  Morris,  written  in  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-nine,  he  is  seen  to  have  first  proposed  the 
instituting  a  good  scheme  of  administration,  throwing  "  the 
public  business  into  proper  executive  departments.  By  a 
plan  of  this  kind,"  he  remarked,  "  we  should  blend  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  monarchy  and  a  republic  in  a  happy  and 
beneficial  union."  His  letter  to  Duane  of  the  following 
year,  gives  a  fuller  development  of  his  views. 

He  there  states  that  "  the  fundamental  defect  is  a  want 
of  power  in  congress,"  and  that  "  the  idea  of  an  uncon- 
trollable sovereignty  in  each  state  over  its  internal  police, 
will  defeat  the  other  powers  given  to  congress,  and  make 
our  union  feeble  and  precarious." 

His  fear  was  of  partial  combinations  among  the  states 
subversive  of  the  general  one.  "  There  is  a  wide  difference," 
he^observed,  "  between  our  situation,  and  that  of  an  em- 
pire under  one  simple  form  of  government,  distributed  into 
counties,  provinces,  or  districts,  which  have  no  legislatures, 
but  merely  magistratical  bodies  to  execute  the  laws  of  a 
common  sovereign.  There  the  danger  is,  that  the  sovereign 
will  have  too  much  power,  and  oppress  the  parts  of  which 
it  is  composed.  In  our  case,  that  of  an  empire  composed 
of  confederative  states,  each  with  a  government  com- 
pletely organized  within  itself,  having  all  the  means  to 
draw  its  subjects  to  a  close  dependence  on  itself,  the  dan- 
ger is  directly  the  reverse."  After  indicating  the  neces- 
sity of  giving  to  the  confederacy  perpetual  funds,  he 
mentions  "  the  want  of  a  proper  executive,"  that  "  congress 
is  properly  a  deliberative  corps,  and  forgets  itself  when  it 
attempts  to  play  the  executive."  His  remedy  was  a  con- 
vention of  all  the  states,  with  full  authority  to  conclude 


462  *    THE    LIFE    OF 

finally  upon  a  general  confederation.  This  confederation 
to  have  complete  sovereignty,  except  "  as  to  that  part  of 
the  internal  police  which  relates  to  the  rights  of  property 
and  life  among  individuals,  and  to  raising  money  by  internal 
taxes." — "  It  is  necessary,"  he  said,  "  that  eveiy  thing  belong- 
ing to  this,  should  be  regulated  by  the  state  legislatures." 

The  project  of  appointing  a  supreme  dictator  and  vice- 
dictator,  evidently  excited  his  apprehensions.  He  then 
saw  the  necessity  of  a  radical  change  in  the  political  struc- 
ture, and  in  his  letter  to  Morris  of  the  following  year,  re- 
newing his  suggestion  of  a  convention,  he  states  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  final  and  irrevocable  amendment  "  of  the  pres- 
ent futile  and  senseless  confederation."  The  numbers  of 
the  Continentalist  of  the  same  period,  indicate  similar 
views.  He  there  proposes  to  give  to  congress  the  collec- 
tion and  appropriation  of  a  national  revenue. 

The  next,  though  not  fully  developed  exposition  of  his 
opinions,  is  seen  in  his  resolutions  of  seventeen  hundred 
and  eighty-three.  These  contemplated  "  a  federal  govern- 
ment, with  efficacious  authority  in  all  matters  of  general 
concern,"  having  its  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  au- 
thorities deposited  in  distinct  and  separate  hands — "  a  fed- 
eral judicature,"  with  appellate  jurisdiction,  "  taking  cog- 
nizance of  all  matters  of  general  concern  in  the  last  resort, 
especially  those  in  which  foreign  nations  and  their  subjects 
are  interested." 

Though  these  resolutions  were  abandoned  for  want  of 
support  in  congress,  they  could  not  be  without  influence 
on  some  of  its  members.  That  they  had  such  an  influ- 
ence, is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  Higginson  was 
prominent  in  urging  Massachusetts  to  meet  in  general  con- 
vention, and  that  Madison,  though  restrained  by  an  appre- 
hension of  the  influence  of  some  powerful  opponent  in 
Virginia,  individually  wished  that  no  objections  should  be 
presupposed  there. 


HAMILTON.  463 

Washington  would  have  vested  congress  with  absolute 
powers  in  all  matters  relative  to  the  great  purposes  of  war 
and  of  general  concern,  reserving  to  the  states  only  those 
of  local  and  internal  polity.*  "  I  do  not  conceive,"  he 
said,  "  that  we  can  exist  long  as  a  nation,  without  having 
lodged  somewhere  a  power  which  will  pervade  the  whole 
union  in  as  energetic  a  manner  as  the  authority  of  the 
state  governments  extend  over  the  several  states.  The 
commotions  in  the  eastern  states  exhibit  a  melancholy 
proof  of  what  our  transatlantic  foe  has  predicted ;  and  of 
another  thing,  which  is  still  more  to  be  regretted,  and  is 
yet  more  unaccountable,  that  mankind,  when  left  to  them- 
selves, are  unfit  for  their  own  government.  Influence  is 
not  government.  Thirteen  governments,  pulling  against 
each  other,  and  all  tugging  at  the  federal  head,  will  soon 
bring  ruin  on  the  whole  ;  whereas,  a  liberal  and  energetic 
constitution,  well  checked,  and  well  watched,  to  prevent 
encroachments,  might  restore  us  to  that  degree  of  re- 
spectability and  consequence  to  which  we  had  the  fairest 
prospect  of  attaining." — "I  confess  that  my  opinion  of 
public  virtue  is  so  far  changed,  that  I  have  my  doubts 
whether  any  system,  without  means  of  coercion  in  the 
sovereign,  will  enforce  due  obedience  to  the  ordinances 
of  a  general  government ;  without  which,  every  thing 
else  fails. 

"  Persuaded  I  am,  that  the  primary  cause  of  all  our  dis- 
orders lies  in  the  different  state  governments,  and  in  the 
tenacity  of  that  power  which  pervades  their  whole  sys- 
tems." 

These  sentiments  of  Washington  and  Hamilton  were 
those  of  men  familiar  with  the  practical  operation  of  the 
existing  system,  in  war  and  in  peace :  who  had  seen  and 
felt  the  evil  of  conflicting  sovereignties,  and  whose  re- 

\ 
*  August  15,  1786. 


464  THE    LIFE    OF 

searches  and  reflections  had  compelled  them  to  distrust 
federate  institutions.*  Though  the  opinions  which  have 
been  quoted  were  those  of  men  of  great  weight  in  the 
most  important  members  of  "the  union,  yet  they  were  not 
general.  The  smaller  states,  while  they  sought  the  pro- 
tection of  a  more  efficient  general  government,  would  re- 
pel any  proposal  to  relinquish  that  equal  suffrage  in  the 
public  councils,  which  they  had  extorted  from  their  asso- 
ciates amid  the  pressure  of  the  revolution.  In  the  large 
states,  leading  individuals,  who  did  not  desire  a  dissolution 
of  the  confederacy,  would  prefer  an  increase  of  the  rela- 
tive influence  of  their  states,  but  were  embarrassed  as  to 
the  quantity  of  power  to  be  conferred.  Both  would  in- 
cline, as  a  middle  point,  to  a  constitution  of  enumerated 
powers,  limited  to  those  primary  objects,  trade  and  reve- 
nue, to  which  they  had  found  their  separate  legislation  in- 
competent. 

With  such  models,  and  amid  a  great  diversity  of  opinions 
and  interests,  the  federal  convention  met  at  Philadelphia 
on  the  fourteenth  of  May,  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven,  when,  a  majority  of  states  not  being  represented,  it 
adjourned  to  the  twenty-fifth  of  that  month. 

On  that  day,  nine  states  having  appeared,  General  Wash- 
ington was.  on  motion  of  Robert  Morris,  chosen  to  pre- 
side, and  Major  Jackson,  at  the  instance  of  Hamilton,  was 
elected  secretary.  A  committee,  of  Wythe,  of  Virginia, 
Charles  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Hamilton,  were 
appointed  to  frame  the  standing  rules  for  its  proceedings. 
These  required  seven  states  to  constitute  a  quorum ;  that 
all  questions  were  to  be  decided  by  the  greater  number  of 
states  fully  represented,  and  that  all  committees  were  to  be 
appointed  by  ballot.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  no  pro- 
vision was  made  in  the  first  instance  for  secrecy  of  debate  : 

*  See  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ix.     Appendix,  No.  iv. 


HAMILTON.  465 

additional  rules  were  adopted  on  motion  of  Pierce  Butler, 
which  prescribed  "  that  no  copy  of  any  entry  on  the  jour- 
nal be  taken  without  the  leave  of  the  house  ;"  that  it  should 
be  inspected  by  members  only,  and  "  that  nothing  spoken 
in  the  house  be  printed,  or  otherwise  published  or  commu- 
nicated, without  leave."  So  sedulous  were  the  convention 
as  to  the  first  of  these  restrictions,  that  it  appears  by  Madi- 
son's report  of  the  debates  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  July, 
seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  that  a  motion  that 
the  members  of  the  house  might  take  copies  of  the  resolu- 
tions which  had  been  agreed  to,  was  negatived.  As  to 
the  last,  the  rule  was  never  rescinded.*  In  reference  to  it, 
a  reply,  published  by  Hamilton  in  seventeen  hundred  and 
ninety-two,  to  anonymous  charges,!  containing  a  misrepre- 
sentation of  his  course  in  the  convention,  and  stated  by 
him  "  to  be  of  a  nature  to  speak  the  malignity  and  turpi- 
tude of  the  accuser,  denoting  clearly  the  personal  enemy 
in  the  garb  of  the  political  opponent,"  mentions  "  that  the 
deliberations  of  the  convention,  which  were  carried  on  in 
private,  were  to  remain  unmolested.  And  every  prudent 
man,"  he  observed,  "  must  be  convinced  of  the  propriety 
of  the  one  and  the  other.  Had  the  deliberations  been 
open  while  going  on,  the  clamours  of  faction  would  have 
prevented  any  satisfactory  result.  Had  they  been  after- 
wards disclosed,  much  food  would  have  been  afforded  to 
inflammatory  declamation.  Propositions,  made  without 
due  reflection,  and  perhaps  abandoned  by  the  proposers 
themselves  on  more  mature  reflection,  would  have  been 
handles  for  a  profusion  of  ill-natured  accusation." 

Washington  gave  as  a  reason  "  for  not  relating  any  of 
the  proceedings,  that  the  rules  of  the  convention  prevented 
Mm.  And  nothing,"  he  said,  "  being  suffered  to  transpire, 

*  The  journal  was  ordered  to  be  published,  March  27,  1818. 
t  In  the  National  Gazette,  established  by  Jefferson  and  Madison. 

59 


466  THE    LIFE    OF 

no  minutes  of  the  proceedings  have  been,  or  will  be  inserted 
in  this  diary."* 

This  solemn  obligation,  which  no  act  of  any  other  body 
could  annul,  was,  until  recently,  sacredly  adhered  to  by 
every  member  of  the  convention  except  Luther  Martin, 
who  did  not  disclose  the  opinions  of  individuals,  but 
gave  a  statement  of  the  proceedings  to  the  legislature  of 
Maryland,  Notes  were  taken  by  Chief  Justice  Yates, 
who,  "  though  often  solicited,  refused  to  permit  them  to  be 
published,  not  only  because  they  were  originally  not  writ- 
ten for  the  public  eye,  but  because  he  conceived  himself 
under  honourable  obligations  to  withhold  their  publication"-^ 

Madison,  it  appears,  regarded  this  obligation  in  a  differ- 
ent light.  "  The  curiosity,"  he  observes,  "  I  had  felt  (as  to 
the  most  distinguished  confederacies  of  antiquity,)  "  deter- 
mined me  to  preserve,  as  far  as  I  could,  an  exact  account 
of  what  might  pass  in  the  convention  while  executing  its 
trust ;  with  the  magnitude  of  which  I  was  duly  impressed, 
as  I  was  by  the  gratification  promised  to  future  curiosity, 
by  an  authentic  exhibition  of  the  objects,  the  opinions, 
and  the  reasonings  from  which  the  new  system  of  govern- 
ment was  to  receive  its  peculiar  structure  and  organiza- 
tion." He  adds,  that  "  with  a  very  few  exceptions  the 
speeches  were  neither  furnished,  nor  revised,  nor  sanc- 
tioned by  the  speakers.  Among  these  exceptions,  he  in- 
cludes the  speech  of  Hamilton,  "  who,"  he  says,  "  happen- 
ed to  call  on  me  when  putting  the  last  hand  to  it,  and  who 
acknowledged  its  fidelity,  without  suggesting  more  than  a 
very  few  verbal  alterations,  which  were  made."J 

*  9  Washington,  541. 

t  Secret  Proceedings,  p.  306. — These  were  copied  by  Lansing,  disposed 
of  bjAthe  widow  of  Yates,  and  published  by  Genet  (the  former  minister  of 
France)  in  1821. 

t  Debates  in  the  Federal  Convention,  v.  2,  p.  717. — Madison  survived 
every  member  of  that  body. 


HAMILTON.  467 

Believing,  nevertheless,  that  no  "  authentic  exhibition" 
of  these  debates  exists,  a  full  view  of  the  formation  of  the 
constitution  will  not  be  attempted.  Contemporary  expo- 
sitions of  it,  minutes  taken  by  Hamilton  in  the  course  of 
and  for  the  purpose  of  debate,  which  will  be  only  resorted 
to  as  far  as  absolutely  necessary  for  his  vindication,  public 
statements  extorted  from  him  in  self-defence,  and  the 
notes  of  Yates  previously  referred  to,  are  the  only  mate- 
rials at  command.  To  cull  from  these  such  facts  as  may 
enable  some  faint  judgment  to  be  formed  of  Hamilton's 
agency  in  framing  the  constitution,  or  in  imparting  to  it 
its  character,  of  his  position  in  the  convention,  of  his  theo- 
retical opinions,  plans,  and  propositions,  will  be  the  sole 
aim  of  the  following  narrative. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  after  some  preliminary  re- 
marks, fifteen  propositions,  concerning  the  American  con- 
federation and  the  establishment  of  a  national  government 
were  laid  before  the  convention  by  Edmund  Randolph, 
then  governor  of  Virginia.* 

It  then  decided  to  resolve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the 
whole  on  the  succeeding  day  for  their  consideration,  when 
Charles  Pinckney,f  of  South  Carolina,  addressed  the  con- 
vention. After  depicting  the  alarming  situation  of  the 
country,  a  situation  to  be  attributed  "  to  the  weakness  and 
impropriety  of  a  government  founded  on  mistaken  princi- 
ples, incapable  of  combining  the  various  interests  it  is  in- 
tended to  unite  and  support,  and  destitute  of  that  force  and 
energy  without  which  no  government  can  exist,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  indicate  the  principal  defects  of  the  confedera- 

*  Madison,  715,  says :  "  The  resolutions  introduced  by  Governor  Randolph 
were  the  result  of  a  consultation  on  the  subject,  with  an  understanding  that 
they  left  all  the  deputies  entirely  open  to  the  lights  of  discussion,  and  free  to 
concur  in  any  alterations  and  modifications  which  their  reflections  and  judg- 
ments might  approve." 

t  Not  General  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney. 


468  THE    LIFE    OP 

tion — defects  so  great  that  he  was  convinced  that  it  would 
be  politic  in  the  convention  to  determine  that  they  will  con- 
sider the  subject  de  novo ;  that  they  will  pay  no  further 
attention  to  the  confederation  than  to  consider  it  as  good 
materials,  and  view  themselves  at  liberty  to  form  and 
recommend  such  a  plan  as,  from  their  knowledge  of 
the  temper  of  the  people,  and  the  resources  of  the  states, 
will  be  most  likely  to  render  our  government  firm  and  uni- 
ted." 

With  these  prefatory  remarks,  Pinckney  submitted  his 
plan  of  government.  He  then  proceeded  to  comment  upon 
it.  From  these  comments  it  appears  that  he  contemplated 
a  legislature  of  two  branches :  the  first  to  consist  of  dele- 
gates chosen  by  the  states,  in  numbers  according  to  their 
relative  importance,  to  vote  per  capita ;  a  senate,  elected  by 
the  house  of  delegates,  upon  "  proportionable  principles, 
which,  though  rotative,  will  give  that  body  a  sufficient  de- 
gree of  stability  and  independence  ;"  each  class  to  be  elected 
for  four  years.  The  executive  to  be  appointed  septenni- 
ally,  but  re-eligible.  If  septennial  appointments  were  sup- 
posed to  be  too  frequent,  Pinckney  stated  that  he  would 
have  "  no  objection  to  elect  him  for  a  longer  term."  He 
was  to  have  a  council  of  revision,  and  among  his  other 
powers  "  that  of  convening  and  proroguing  the  legislature 
upon  special  occasions  ;"  and  of  appointing  "  all  officers 
except  judges  and  foreign  ministers."  A  supreme  judiciary 
to  be  instituted  by  congress,  to  take  cognizance  of  all  offi- 
cers of  the  United  States,  of  questions  arising  on  the  law 
of  nations,  the  construction  of  treaties,  and  of  the  regula- 
tions of  congress  in  pursuance  of  their  powers,  and  also 
courts  of  admiralty  in  the  several  states. 

Congress  were  to  have  the  exclusive  powers  then  vested 
in  the  confederation,  and  also  the  regulation  of  commerce  ; 
the  raising  money  by  impost,  and  of  troops  in  peace  and 
war ;  with  a  proviso  that,  as  to  all  cases  which  then  re- 


HAMILTON.  469 

quired  the  assent  of  nine  states,  and  as  to  acts  regulating 
trade,  and  for  levying  an  impost  or  raising  troops,  "  the  as- 
sent of  two-thirds  of  both  houses  should  be  required." 

After  this  exposition  of  Pinckney's  plan,*  it  was  resolved 
that  the  Virginia  propositions  should  with  it  be  referred  to 
a  committee  of  the  whole  convention. 

The  discussion  of  the  first  six  occupied  two  days.  The 
result  was  a  declaration  that "  a  national  government  ought 
to  be  established,  consisting  of  a  supreme  legislative,  judi- 
ciary, and  executive  ;"  all  the  states  concurring  except  Con- 
necticut and  New- York — Hamilton  voting  in  favour  of  the 
proposition.  The  question  whether  the  right  of  suffrage  in 
the  national  legislature  ought  to  be  apportioned  to  the  quo- 
tas of  contribution,  or  to  the  number  of  free  inhabitants, 
(Hamilton  urging  the  latter,)  was  postponed.  Pennsylva- 
nia alone  opposed  the  division  of  the  legislature  into  two 
branches.  A  majority  were  in  favour  of  the  election  of 
the  first  branch  by  the  people,  as  had  been  the  practice  of 


*This  statement  is  derived  from  a  pamphlet  published  in  1788,  entitled, 
"  Observations  on  the  plan  of  government  submitted  to  the  federal  conven- 
tion, by  Mr.  Charles  Pinckney." — No.  2687  of  select  tracts  of  New- York  His- 
torical Society.  A  comparison  of  the  plan  in  the  Observations,  with  that  on 
the  journals,  furnished  by  Pinckney,  shows  great  dissimilarity.  The  "obser- 
vations" have  no  reference  to  an  election  of  the  house  of  representatives  by  the 
people.  On  the  contrary,  it  will  be  perceived  by  the  journal  of  the  sixth  of  June, 
that  Pinckney  proposed  their  election  by  the  state  legislatures.  The  power  of 
appointment  is  given,  in  the  "  observations,"  to  the  executive,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  which  is  required  by  the  journal  plan.  They  propose  a  coun- 
cil of  revision,  not  contained  in  the  journal  plan ;  gave  the  decision  of  territo- 
rial disputes  to  a  court  constituted  as  directed  in  the  confederation.  The  plan 
on  the  journal  vests  it  in  the  senate.  The  journal  plan  requires  the  assent  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  congress  present  only  in  the  enactment  of  laws 
regulating  commerce.  The  "  observations"  speak  of  seventeen  articles.  The 
journal  plan  contains  sixteen.  The  "  observations"  refer  to  the  eighth  article 
as  relating  to  the  post  office.  The  eighth  article  of  the  journal  plan  relates 
solely  to  the  executive  power.  The  numerical  discrepancy  occurs  in  other 
instances. 


470  THE    LIFE    OF 

Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  under  the  confederation. 
The  proposition  that  the  second  should  be  chosen  by  the 
first  branch,  out  of  persons  appointed  by  the  state  legisla- 
tures, was  rejected  ;  and  it  was  declared  that  its  members 
should  be  elected  by  the  state  legislatures.  The  sixth  re- 
solve gave  to  each  branch  the  right  of  originating  acts,  and 
conferred  on  the  national  legislature  the  legislative  rights 
vested  in  congress  by  the  confederation,  and  empowered  it 
to  legislate  in  all  cases  to  which  the  separate  states  were 
incompetent,  or  in  which  the  harmony  of  the  United  States 
may  be  interrupted  by  the  exercise  of  individual  legislation, 
and  to  negative  all  laws  of  the  states  contravening,  in  its 
opinion,  the  articles  of  union,  or  any  treaties  subsisting 
under  the  authority  of  the  union — the  last  clause  being  sug- 
gested by  Franklin.  It  was  approved  in  this  form,  after 
rejecting  a  section  authorizing  a  resort  to  the  force  of  the 
union  against  any  delinquent  state. 

The  seventh  resolution  was  considered  on  the  first  of 
June.  It  declared  that  a  national  executive  be  chosen  by 
the  legislature  for  a  term  of  years,  with  a  fixed  compensa- 
tion, not  to  be  increased  or  diminished  so  as  to  affect  the 
existing  magistracy,  which  was  to  be  ineligible,  and,  be- 
sides a  general  authority  to  execute  the  national  laws,  that 
it  ought  to  enjoy  the  executive  rights  vested  in  congress 
by  the  confederation. 

A  motion  of  Wilson,  that  it  should  consist  of  a  single 
person,  was  postponed,  when  Madison,  urging  that  its 
powers  ought  first  to  be  defined,  offered  ^n  amendment  con- 
ferring on  it  the  power  to  carry  into  execution  the  nation- 
al laws,  to  appoint  to  offices  in  cases  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for,  and  to  execute  such  other  powers,  not  legislative 
or  judiciary  in  their  nature,  as  may  from  time  to  time  be 
delegated  by  the  national  legislature.  The  powers  to  ex- 
ecute the  laws,  and  to  appoint  to  office,  were  approved  ; 
but  the  last  indefinite  clause  was  rejected,  Massachusetts, 


HAMILTON.  471 

Virginia,  and  South  Carolina  voting  for  it.  The  term  of 
office  was  next  established  at  seven  years. 

Until  this  period  of  the  proceedings,  New- York  was 
represented  by  Hamilton  and  Yates,  but  on  the  second  of 
June,  Lansing  having  taken  his  seat,  Hamilton's  vote  was 
merged  in  that  of  his  colleagues. 

Immediately  after,  a  proposal  was  made  to  postpone 
the  resolution  respecting  the  executive,  in  order  to  take  up 
that  relating  to  the  second  branch  of  the  legislature :  only 
three  states  voted  in  its  favour.  A  motion  was  then  made 
by  Wilson,  that  the  executive  magistracy  should  be  elected 
by  electors  chosen  in  districts  of  the  states,  in  whom  the 
executive  authority  of  the  government  should  be  vested. 
This  motion  was  negatived,  seven  states  being  against  it ; 
the  vote  of  New- York  divided,  and  its  election  by  the  na- 
tional legislature  being  approved.  To  control  this  great 
object  of  jealousy,  a  proposition  was  made  that  it  should 
be  removable  by  the  national  legislature.  This  was  defeat- 
ed, but  it  was  declared  to  be  ineligible  a  second  time  ;  and 
instead  of  giving  the  legislature  a  general  power  of  remo- 
val, a  provision,  derived  from  the  constitution  of  North 
Carolina,  rendering  the  executive  removable  on  impeach- 
ment, and  conviction  of  malpractice  or  neglect  of  duty, 
was,  at  the  suggestion  of  Williamson,  substituted.  It  was 
again  moved  that  the  executive  should  consist  of  one  per- 
son. The  subject  was  now  discussed  at  large,  Butler, 
Gerry,  Charles  Pinckney,  Sherman,  and  Wilson  being  in 
favour  of  a  single,  Madison  and  Randolph  of  a  plural  execu- 
tive. 

In  the  letters  written  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
vention by  Madison  to  Washington  in  reference  to  the 
executive,  he  is  seen  to  have  stated  that  he  had  "  scarcely 
ventured  to  form  his  own  opinion  yet,  either  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  ought  to  be  constituted,  or  of  the  authori- 
ties with  which  it  ought  to  be  clothed."  This  language 


472  THE    LIFE    OF 

would  seem  to  imply  that  he  then  contemplated  a  plural 
magistracy.  He  now  observed,  "  the  way  to  prevent  a 
majority  from  having  an  interest  to  oppress  the  minority, 
is  to  enlarge  the  sphere."  "  Elective  monarchies  are  tur- 
bulent and  unhappy."  "Men  are  unwilling  to  admit  so 
decided  a  superiority  of  merit  in  an  individual,  as  to  ac- 
cede to  his  appointment  to  so  pre-eminent  a  station.  If 
several  are  admitted,  as  there  will  be  many  competitors  of 
equal  merit,  they  may  be  all  included — contention  pre- 
vented, and  the  republican  genius  consulted."* 

Randolph  followed.  He  remarked,  that  "the  situation 
of  this  country  was  peculiar.  The  people  were  taught  an 
aversion  to  monarchy  ;  all  their  constitutions  were  opposed 
to  it.  The  fixed  character  of  the  people  was  opposed  to 
it.  If  proposed,  it  will  prevent  a  fair  discussion  of  the 
plan.  Why  cannot  three  execute  ?  Great  exertions  were 
only  requisite  on  particular  occasions.  Safety  to  liberty 
was  the  great  object ;  legislatures  may  appoint  a  dictator. 
He  spoke  of  the  seeds  of  destruction ;  slaves  might  be  ea- 
sily enlisted.  The  executive  may  appoint  men  devoted  to 
them,  and  even  bribe  the  legislature  by  offices.  The  chief 
magistrate  will  also  be  free  from  impeachment." 

Wilson  answered,  alleging  that  the  extent  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  diversity  of  manners,  precluded  the  dangers 
alluded  to.  "  A  confederated  republic,"  he  observed,  "  unites 
the  advantages  and  banishes  the  disadvantages  of  other 
kinds  of  government.  Rendering  the  executive  ineligible," 
he  declared, "  was  an  infringement  of  the  right  of  election.'* 

Bedford  concurred  in  the  opinion,  that  the  executive 
should  be  re-eligible.  He  remarked,  that  "  peculiar  talents 
were  requisite  for  the  executive  ;  therefore,  there  ought  to 
be  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  his  talents,  and  therefore 
frequent  change." 

*  Hamilton's  MSS.  notes,  vol.  1,  p.  74. — Madison  does  not  give  these 
remarks. — Reports  of  1st  and  2d  June,  vol.  2,  Madison  Papers,  p.  762 — 783. 


HAMILTON.  473 

The  question  being  taken,  seven  states  voted  in  favour 
of  a  single  executive.  New- York,  (Yates  and  Lansing 
giving  the  vote,)  Delaware,  and  Maryland  in  the  negative. 

The  eighth  resolve  proposed  a  council  of  revision,  to  be 
composed  of  the  executive  and  of  a  part  of  the  judiciary. 
It  was  to  be  empowered  to  revise  every  act  of  the  national 
legislature  before  it  should  operate,  and  of  the  particular 
legislatures  of  each  state,  before  a  negative  thereon  should 
be  final.  The  dissent  of  the  council  to  amount  to  a  rejec- 
tion, unless  the  act  of  the  national  legislature  was  again 
passed,  or  that  of  a  particular  state  should  be  again  ne- 
gatived by  the  vote  of  a  certain  number  of  the  members 
of  each  branch.  Madison  was  zealous  for  this  revisionary 
council.  Hamilton  was  averse  to  it,  from  the  "  danger 
that  the  executive,  by  too  frequent  communication  with  the 
judicial,  may  corrupt  it."  As  to  the  argument  that  this 
negative  would  not  be  used,  he  remarked,  "  it  would  go 
so  far  as  to  prove  that  the  revisionary  power  would  not 
be  exercised,  and  therefore  was  useless."  He  seconded  a 
motion  of  Wilson  to  vest  an  unqualified  negative  in  the 
executive.  This  proposal  was  rejected,  but  a  modified 
provision  passed,  giving  this  negative  to  the  executive,  un- 
less two-thirds  of  the  legislature  should  concur,  thus  dis- 
pensing with  the  council  of  revision. 

The  ninth  resolve  contemplated  a  national  judiciary,  to 
hold  during  good  behaviour,  to  receive  a  compensation  not 
to  be  increased  or  diminished  so  as  to  affect  the  incum- 
bents. It  was  to  consist  of  a  supreme  appellate,  and  infe- 
rior tribunals,  whose  jurisdiction  was  to  extend  to  pira- 
cies and  felonies  on  the  seas,  and  captures  from  an  enemy ; 
to  cases  in  which  foreigners  or  citizens  of  other  states 
might  be  interested,  or  which  respected  the  collection  of  the 
revenue ;  to  impeachments  of  any  national  officer,  and 
questions  involving  the  national  peace  and  harmony.  Wil- 
son moved  that  the  judiciary  should  be  appointed  by  the 

60 


474  THE    LIFE   OF 

executive.  Madison  was  opposed  to  this.  He  thought 
that  the  executive  should  by  no  means  make  the  appoint- 
ment, and  pursuing  the  policy  of  Virginia,  which  gave  the 
appointment  to  the  legislature,  he  proposed  to  vest  it  in 
the  second  branch. 

A  provision  for  the  admission  of  new  states,  was  in  the 
next  place  adopted.  On  the  sixth  of  June,  proposals  to 
give  the  election  of  the  first  branch  of  the  national  legisla- 
ture to  those  of  the  several  states,  and  to  annex  a  council 
of  revision  to  the  executive,  to  be  composed  of  the  nation- 
al judiciary,  were  renewed,  and  failed.  It  was  urged  in 
favour  of  the  first  proposition,  that  if  "  the  legislatures  did 
not  partake  in  the  appointment,  they  would  be  more  jeal- 
ous of  the  general  government ;  and  that  the  state  legisla- 
tures ought  also  to  elect  the  senators,  so  as  to  bring  into 
it  the  sense  of  the  state  governments,"  and  thus  "  lead  to  a 
more  respectable  choice." 

Madison  contended,  that  at  least  one  branch  should  be 
chosen  by  the  people.  He  stated  that*  there  wTere  "  two 
principles  on  which  republics  ought  to  be  constituted. 
One,  that  they  should  have  such  an  extent  as  to  render 
combinations  on  the  ground  of  interest  difficult.  The 
other,  by  a  process  of  election  calculated  to  refine  the  rep- 
resentation of  the  people."f 


*  Hamilton  MSS.  v.  1,  p.  75. 

t  In  reference  to  these  principles,  this  comment  by  Hamilton  is  preserved. 

"  Maddison's  theory.  Answer : — There  Is  truth  in  both  these  principles,  but 
they  do  not  conclude  as  strongly  as  he  supposes.  The  assembly,  when  cho- 
sen, will  meet  in  one  room,  if  they  are  drawn  from  half  the  globe,  and  will 
be  liable  to  all  the  passions  of  popular  assemblies. 

"  If  more  minute  links  are  wanting,  others  will  supply  them.  Distinctions 
of  eastern,  middle,  and  southern  states,  will  come  into  view,  between  com- 
mercial and  non-commercial  states.  Imaginary  lines  will  influence,  &c. 

"  The  human  mind  is  prone  to  limit  its  view  to  near  and  local  objects.  Pa- 
per money  is  capable  of  giving  a  general  impulse.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  a 
oopular  sentiment  pervading  the  eastern  states."  Madison  also  observed, 


HAMILTON.  475 

The  election  of  the  second  branch  by  the  state  legisla- 
tures was  proposed,  and,  after  the  rejection  of  a  motion 
that  it  should  be  chosen  by  the  people,  was  passed  unani- 
mously. 

The  term  of  service  of  the  first  branch  was  fixed  at 
three,  that  of  the  second  branch  at  seven  years.  The 
members  were  to  receive  fixed  stipends  out  of  the  national 
treasury,  and  to  be  ineligible  to  any  office  established  by 
a  state,  or  by  the  United  States,  (except  those  peculiarly 
belonging  to  the  functions  of  the  respective  branch,)  du- 
ring the  term  of  service,  and  under  the  national  govern- 
ment for  one  year  after  its  expiration.  The  restriction  on 
their  re-eligibility,  and  the  right  to  recall  those  of  the  se- 
cond branch,  were  expunged.  An  important  motion  was 
now  made  as  to  the  power  to  be  confided  to  the  legisla- 
ture. It  was  proposed  by  Charles  Pinckney,  and  second- 
ed by  Madison,  that  it  should  have  a  negative  on  all  laws 
of  the  states  which  to  it  shall  appear  improper.  This  was 
sustained  by  only  three  states — Massachusetts,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Virginia. 

After  some  discussion  of  the  mode  of  appointing  the 
executive,  the  rule  of  suffrage  now  existing  as  to  the  choice 
of  the  first  branch  of  the  legislature  was  adopted,  and  a 
proposal  was  made  to  give  to  each  state  an  equal  vote  in 
the  second  branch. 

Wilson  and  Hamilton  urged  that  the  rule  adopted  as  to 


"  that  large  districts  are  less  liable  to  be  influenced  by  factious  demagogues 
than  small."  "  This,"  Hamilton  noted,  "  is  in  some  degree  true,  but  not  so 
generally  as  may  be  supposed.  Frequently  small  portions  of  large  districts 
carry  elections.  An  influential  demagogue  will  give  an  impulse  to  the 
whole.  Demagogues  are  not  always  inconsiderable  persons.  Patricians 
were  frequently  demagogues.  In  large  districts,  characters  are  less  known, 
and  a  less  active  interest  is  taken  in  them." 

"  One  great  defect  of  our  state  governments  is,  that  they  do  not  present  ob- 
jects sufficiently  interesting  to  the  human  mind." 


476  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  first  should  govern  in  the  choice  of  the  second  branch. 
They  prevailed  for  the  moment.  A  guarantee  of  a  repub- 
lican constitution,  and  of  its  existing  laws  to  each  state, 
was  unanimously  approved.  It  was  declared  that  a  pro- 
vision ought  to  be  made  for  the  amendment  of  the  consti- 
tution ;  and  that  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary 
of  each  state  ought  to  be  bound  by  oath  to  support  the 
articles  of  union.  After  an  approval  of  the  fifteenth  re- 
solve, that  the  amendments  to  the  confederation  with  the 
approbation  of  congress  should  be  submitted  to  an  assem- 
bly, or  assemblies,  elected  by  the  people,  the  Virginia  reso- 
lutions were  reported  to  the  house  on  the  thirteenth  of 
June. 

During  the  discussion  of  these  resolutions,  such  of  the 
delegates  from  Connecticut,  New- York,  New- Jersey,  Dela- 
ware, and  Maryland,  as  were  in  favour  of  a  larger  reten- 
tion of  power  in  the  states,  prepared  a  series  of  resolves, 
which  were  on  the  fifteenth  of  June  submitted  by  Pater- 
son.  They  were  designated  "the  Jersey  plan."  This 
plan  contemplated  an  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  con- 
gress, without  any  change  in  the  structure  of  the  gov- 
ernment— an  apportionment  of  the  ratio  of  contribution 
to  the  population — the  election  by  congress  of  a  plural 
federal  executive — a  federal  judiciary  to  be  appointed  by 
the  executive,  to  hold  during  good  behaviour — a  provision 
rendering  the  acts  of  congress  and  treaties  the  supreme 
law,  with  compulsory  authority  over  the  states  by  the 
national  force. 

This  scheme  being  referred  to  a  committee  of  the 
whole  house,  with  a  view  to  bring  the  respective  systems 
into  full  contrast,  it  was  moved  by  Rutledge,  seconded  by 
Hamilton,  that  the  amended  resolutions  from  Virginia  be 
recommitted.  The  broad  question,  whether  a  national 
government,  or  mere  articles  of  confederation  were  to  be 
recommended,  was  now  presented.  The  debate  was  open- 


HAMILTON.       ^  477 

ed  on  the  sixteenth  of  June,  by  Lansing.  He  stated,  that 
the  national  system  proposed  to  draw  the  representation 
from  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  without  regard  to  the 
state  sovereignties.  That  the  substitute  proposed  to  pre- 
serve the  state  sovereignties.  What  were  the  powers 
under  which  the  convention  acted  ?  "  Different  legislatures 
had  a  different  object,"  but  the  general  purpose  was  to 
"  revise  the  confederation."  "  Independent  states  cannot 
be  supposed  to  be  willing  to  annihilate  the  states."  "  The 
state  of  New- York  would  not  have  agreed  to  send  mem- 
bers on  this  ground." 

It  is  "  in  vain,"  he  said,  "  to  devise  systems,  however 
good,  which  will  not  be  adopted."  "  If  convulsions  hap- 
pen, nothing  we  can  do  will  give  them  a  direction.  The 
legislatures  cannot  be  expected  to  make  such  a  sacrifice." 
"  The  wisest  men  in  forming  a  system  from  theory  are 
apt  to  be  mistaken."  "  The  present  national  government 
has  no  precedent,  or  experience  to  support  it,"  and  the 
"  general  opinion  was,  that  certain  additional  powers  ought 
to  be  given  to  congress" 

He  was  followed  by  Patterson,  who  observed,  first,  that 
their  plan  accorded  with  their  powers ;  second,  that  it  ac- 
cords with  the  "  sentiments  of  the  people.  If  the  confed- 
eration was  radically  defective,  we  ought  to  return  to  our 
states  and  tell  them  so.  He  came  not  here  to  sport  senti- 
ments of  his  own,  but  to  speak  the  sense  of  his  constitu- 
ents." The  "  states  treat  as  equal ;  the  present  compact 
gives  one  vote  to  each  state.  By  the  articles  of  the  con- 
federation, '  alterations  are  to  be  made  by  congress,  and  all 
the  legislatures.'  All  the  parties  to  a  contract  must  as- 
sent to  its  dissolution.  The  states  collectively  have  advan- 
tages, in  which  the  smaller  states  do  not  participate  ;  there- 
fore individual  rules  do  not  apply." 

The  "  force  of  government,"  he  observed,  "  will  not  de- 
pend on  the  proportion  of  representation,  but  on  the  quan- 


478  THE    LIFE    OF 

tity  of  power."  "  A  check  is  not  necessary  in  a  general 
government  of  communities,  but  in  an  individual  state  the 
spirit  of  faction  is  to  be  checked."  "  How  have  congress 
hitherto  conducted  themselves  ?  The  people  approve  of 
congress,  but  think  they  have  not  power  enough." 

On  a  comparison  of  the  different  schemes  of  govern- 
ment then  before  the  convention,  it  is  seen  that  Pinckney 
would  have  clothed  the  legislature  with  the  powers  vested 
in  congress  by  the  confederation,  and  also  with  the  regu- 
lation of  commerce,  the  raising  money  by  impost,  and  with 
the  control  of  the  national  force.  The  Virginia  plan 
would  have  conferred  on  the  government  powers  supreme 
in  all  questions  of  national  interest ;  a  negative  on  the  laws 
of  the  states,  with  an  express  declaration  of  a  power  to 
exert  the  common  force  against  a  delinquent  state. 

Pinckney  also  proposed  a  single  executive,  while  the 
Virginia  plan,  having  confided  unlimited  powers  to  the 
legislature,  would  have  vested  the  execution  of  those  pow- 
ers in  a  plural  magistracy,  ineligible  a  second  time,  con- 
trolled by  a  council  of  revision  constituted  from  the  judi- 
ciary, which  would  thus  have  become  a  political  agent — 
those  powers  to  be  exercised  by  a  resort  to  force  ;  to  ob- 
viate which,  Madison  is  seen  to  have  proposed  a  negative 
on  the  laws  of  the  states. 

The  Jersey  plan  was  more  objectionable.  It  created  a 
single  legislative  body,  with  the  command  of  the  purse  and 
the  sword ;  derived  its  authority  from  the  states ;  estab- 
lished an  equality  of  suffrage ;  proposed  that  a  minority 
should  govern;  contemplated  partial  objects  of  legisla- 
tion ;*  gave  no  negative  upon  that  of  the  states ;  created 
a  plural  executive,  removable  on  the  application  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  executives  of  the  states,  without  any  negative 
on  the  national  legislature  ;  and  a  judiciary,  to  be  appoint- 

*  The  revenue  was  to  be  derived  from  imposts,  stamps,  and  postage. 


HAMILTON.  479 

ed  by  the  executive,  with  power  to  try  impeachments  of 
federal  officers,  but  without  any  other  original  jurisdiction, 
and  without  inferior  tribunals. 

Such  were  the  forms  of  government  in  contemplation 
for  an  empire  of  almost  boundless  territory,  and  destined 
to  contain  a  countless  population. 

As  neither  of  these  forms  was  adopted,  and  as  the  final 
result  was  a  compromise,  it  becomes  necessary,  in  order 
to  judge  correctly  of  the  extent  of  Hamilton's  influence 
upon  the  character  of  that  compromise,  to  trace  the  suc- 
cessive opinions  of  leading  members  of  the  convention. 

With  this  view,  it  will  be  remarked,  while  the  plan  of 
Madison  and  Randolph  submitted  it  as  an  open  question, 
whether  "  the  right  of  suffrage  in  the  national  legislature 
ought  to  be  proportioned  to  the  quotas  of  contribution,  or 
to  the  number  of  free  inhabitants,"  that  Hamilton  was  the 
first  to  urge  the  latter  as  the  true  basis  of  a  republican 
government.* 

Both  Hamilton  and  Madison  agreed  that  the  choice  of 
the  first  branch  of  it  should  be  by  the  people ;  but  while 
Hamilton  would  have  derived  the  second  branch,  or  senate, 
also  from  the  people,f  Madison  preferred  that  it  should  be 
chosen  by  the  first  branch. 

The  proposition  of  Virginia  gave  the  choice  of  the  ex- 
ecutive department  of  the  government  to  the  national 
legislature.  Hamilton,  pursuing  the  great  principle  of  a 
popular  government,  was  in  favour  of  an  executive  to  be 
chosen  by  the  people  in  districts  through  the  medium  of 
electors. 

Madison  was  the  advocate  of  a  plural  executive,  and 

*  Journal  of  Fed.  Con.,  pp.  67-83.  "  It  was  moved  by  Mr.  Hamilton, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Spaight,  that  the  resolution  be  altered  so  as  to  read :  Re- 
solved, that  the  rights  of  suffrage  in  the  national  legislature  ought  to  be  pro- 
portioned  to  the  number  of  free  inhabitants." 

t  Journal,  112. 


480  THE    LIFE    OF 

would  have  associated  with  it  a  revisionary  council,  to  be 
formed  of  the  national  judiciary,  having  a  qualified  nega- 
tive. Hamilton,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have  imposed 
on  a  single  executive  an  undivided  responsibility,  without 
a  council  of  revision.  He  would  have  given  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  judiciary  to  the  executive,  and  would  have 
charged  it  solely  with  judicial  duties.  The  judiciary  of 
Madison  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  second  branch,  to  be 
connected  with  the  executive,  to  act  politically  as  its  con- 
trolling council,  and  also  as  the  court  of  impeachments  on 
the  national  officers. 

Passing  from  the  structure  to  the  powers  of  the  govern- 
ment— while  Hamilton  would  have  provided  that  the  ex- 
ecutive should  take  care  that  the  laws  were  faithfully  ex- 
ecuted, Madison  would  have  authorized  the  legislature  to 
delegate  to  it,  from  time  to  time,  such  other  powers,  not  le- 
gislative or  judiciary  in  their  nature,  as  it  might  choose  ;* 
and  would  have  given  it  a  negative  on  the  laws  of  the 
states. 

As  to  the  national  legislature,  he  would  have  empowered 
it  to  "  negative  all  laws"  of  the  states  "  which  to  them  shall 
appear  improper."!  It  has  been  seen  that  while  he  thought 
that  perhaps  this  negative  "  might  create  a  mutual  depen- 
dence between  the  general  and  particular  authorities,"  and 
thus  "  that  the  necessity  of  operating  by  force  on  the  col- 
lective will  of  a  state  might  be  precluded,"  he  said,  "  the 
right  of  coercion  should  be  expressly  declared."  This  was 
by  far  the  highest  toned  form  of  government  submitted  to 
the  convention,  and  as  it  intermingled  injuriously  the  dif- 
ferent departments,  and  derived  them  all  from  the  first  le- 
gislative branch,  would  have  resulted  in  an  odious  and  in- 
tolerable tyranny,  in  which  the  executive  and  senate 
would  have  been  the  creatures  and  mere  instruments 

«  Journal,  p.  89.  t  Ibid.  p.  107. 


HAMILTON.  481 

of  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  popular  branch  of  the  legisla- 
ture. 

In  two  most  important  particulars,  a  common  sentiment 
is  seen  in  the  convention  :  the  determination  to  lay  a  re- 
publican basis,  in  the  pledge  by  an  unanimous  vote  to 
"  guarantee  to  each  state  a  republican  constitution,  and  its 
existing  laws ;"  and  that  the  national  judiciary  should  hold 
their  offices  during  good  behaviour. 

To  establish  a  stable  and  enduring  government  of  com- 
petent powers,  founded  on  the  consent  of  the  people,  and 
to  combine  a  vigorous  execution  of  the  laws  with  a  due 
regard  to  liberty,  by  a  judicious  application  of  a  system  of 
checks  as  far  as  was  practicable,  consistently  with  the  ge- 
nius of  a  republic,  were  the  great  objects  to  be  sought. 
Neither  of  the  plans  before  the  convention  promised  to 
effect  these  objects. 

During  its  sitting,  Hamilton  had  been  engaged  in  framing 
a  plan  of  government,  in  which,  while  he  adhered  strictly 
to  the  republican  theory,  he  sought  to  blend  with  that  form 
the  advantages  of  a  monarchy. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  June,  upon  a  resolution  of  Dickin- 
son, "  that  the  articles  of  confederation  ought  to  be  revised 
and  amended,  so  as  to  render  the  government  of  the  United 
States  adequate  to  the  exigencies,  the  preservation,  and 
prosperity  of  the  union,"  Hamilton  addressed  the  com- 
mittee. As  no  report  approaching  to  accuracy  has  been 
given  of  this  memorable  speech,  it  is  deemed  expedient  to 
publish  the  brief  as  it  exists  among  his  manuscripts. 

INTRODUCTION. 

I.  Importance  of  the  occasion. 

II.  A  solid  plan,  without  regard  to  temporary  opinions. 
III.  If  an  ineffectual  plan  be  again  proposed,  it  will  beget 
despair,  and  no  government  will  grow  out  of  CON- 
SENT. 

61 


482  THE    LIFE    OF 

IV.  There  seem  to  be  but  three  lines  of  conduct. 
I.  A  league  offensive,  treaty  of  commerce,  and  appor- 
tionment of  the  public  debt. 

II.  An  amendment  of  the  present  confederation,  by  add- 
ing such  powers  as  the  public  mind  seems  nearest 
being  matured  to  grant. 

III.  The  forming  a  new  government  to  pervade  the  whole, 
with  decisive  powers ;  in  short,  with  complete 
sovereignty. 

Last  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  sentiment. 
I.  Its  practicability  to  be  examined. 

Immense  extent  unfavourable  to  representation. 
Vast  expense. 
Double  sets  of  officers. 
Difficulty  of  judging  of  local  circumstances. 
Distance  has  a  physical  effect  on  men's  minds. 
Difficulty  of  drawing  proper  characters  from  home. 
Execution  of  laws,  feeble  at  a  distance  from  govern- 
ment— particularly  in  the  collection  of  revenue. 
Sentiment  of  obedience- 


opinion. 
I,  Objections  to  the  present  confederation. 

Intrusts  the  great  interests  of  the  nation  to  hands 
incapable  of  managing  them. 

All  matters  in  which  foreigners  are  concerned. 

The  care  of  the  public  peace — debts. 

Power  of  treaty,  without  power  of  execution. 

Common  defence,  without  power  to  raise  troops — 
have  a  fleet — raise  money. 

Power  to  contract  debts,  without  the  power  to  pay. 

These  great  interests  of  the  state  must  be  well  man- 
aged, or  the  public  prosperity  must  be  the  victim. 

Legislates  upon  communities. 

Where  the  legislatures  are  to  act,  they  will  delib- 
erate. 


HAMILTON.  483 

To  ask  money,  not  to  collect  it,  and  by  an  unjust 
measure. 

No  sanction ! ! 
Amendment  of  confederation  according  to  present 

ideas. 
1.   Difficult  because  not  agreed  upon  any  thing.    Ex — 

Impost. 

Commerce— different  theories. 

To  ascertain  the  practicability  of  this,  let  us  examine 
the  principles  of  civil  obedience. 

SUPPORTS    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

I.  Interest  to  support  it. 
II.  Opinion  of  utility  and  necessity. 

III.  Habitual  sense  of  obligation. 

IV.  Force. 
V.  Influence. 

I.  Interest — particular  and  general  interests. 
Esprit  de  corps. 
Vox  populi,  Vox  Dei. 
II.  Opinion  of  utility  and  necessity. 

First  will  decrease  with  the  growth  of  the  states. 

Necessity. 

This  does  not  apply  to  federal  government. 
This  may  dissolve,  and  yet  the  order  of  the  commu- 
nity continue. 
Anarchy  not  a  necessary  consequence. 

III.  HABITUAL  sense  of  obligation. 

This  results  from  administration  of  private  justice. 
Demand  of  service  or  money  odious. 

IV.  FORCE — of  two  kinds. 

COERCION  of  laws — COERCION  of  arms. 
First  does  not  exist — and  the  last  useless. 
Attempt  to  use  it,  a  war  between  the  states. 


484  THE    LIFE    OF 

Foreign  aid. 

Delinquency  not  confined  to  one. 
V.  INFLUENCE — 

1.  From  municipal  jurisdiction. 

2.  Appointment  of  officers. 

3.  Military  jurisdiction. 

4.  Fiscal  jurisdiction. 

All  these  now  reside  in  (the)  particular  states. 
Their  governments  are  the  chief  sources  of  hon- 
our and  emolument. 

AMBITION AVARICE. 

To  effect  any  thing,  passions  must  be  turned  towards 
the  general  government. 

Present  confederation  cannot  be  amended,  unless  the 
most  important  powers  be  given  to  congress  constituted 
as  they  are. 

This  would  be  liable  to  all  (the)  objections  against  any 
form  of  general  government,  with  the  addition  of  the  want 
of  checks. 

Perpetual  effort  in  each  member. 

Influence  of  individuals  in  office  to  excite  jealousy  and 
clamour — state  leaders. 

Experience  corresponds. 

Grecian  republics. 

Demosthenes  says — Athens  seventy-three  years — Lace- 
daemon  twenty-seven — Thebans  after  battle  of  Leuctra. 

Phocions — consecrated  ground — Philip,  &c. 

Germanic  empire. 

Charlemagne  and  his  successors. 

Diet — recesses. 

ELECTORS  now  seven,  excluding  others. 

Swiss  Cantons. 

Two  diets. 

Opposite  alliances. 

Berne — Lucerne. 


HAMILTON.  485 

To  strengthen  the  federal  government,  powers  too  great 
must  be  given  to  a  single  hand. 

League  offensive  and  defensive,  &c. 

Particular  governments  might  exert  themselves,  &c. 

But  liable  to  usual  vicissitudes.) 

Internal  peace  affected. 

Proximity  of  situation — natural  enemies. 

Partial  confederacies  from  unequal  extent. 

Power  inspires  ambition. 

Weakness  begets  jealousy. 

Western  territory. 

Objn. — GENIUS  of  republics  pacific. 

Answer.     Jealousy  of  commerce  as  well  as  jealousy  of 
power,  begets  war. 

Sparta — Athens — Thebes — Rome — Carthage — Venice 
— Hanseatic  League. 

England  as  many  popular  as  royal  wars. 

Lewis    the    XIV. — Austria — Bourbons — William    and 
Anne. 

Wars  depend  upon  trifling  circumstances. 

Where — Dutchess  of  Marlborough's  glov( . 

Foreign  conquest. 

Dismemberment — Poland. 

Foreign  influence. 

Distractions  set  afloat  vicious  humours. 

Standing  armies  by  dissensions. 

Domestic  factions — Montesquieu. 

Monarchy  in  southern  states. 

OCJ3  Federal  rights — Fisheries. 

Wars — destructive. 

Loss  of  advantages. 

Foreign  nations  would  not  respect  our  rights  nor  grant 
us  reciprocity. 

Would  reduce  us  to  a  passive  commerce. 

Fisheries — navigation  of  the  lakes — Mississippi — Fleet. 


486  THE    LIFE   OF 

The  general  government  must,  in  this  case,  not  only  have 
a  strong  soul,  but  strong  organs  by  which  that  soul  is  to 
operate. 

Here  I  shall  give  my  sentiments  of  the  best  form  of  gov- 
ernment— not  as  a  thing  attainable  by  us,  but  as  a  model 
which  we  ought  to  approach  as  near  as  possible. 

British  constitution  best  form. 

Aristotle — Cicero — Montesquieu — Neckar.* 

Society  naturally  divides  itself  into  two  political  di- 
visions— the  few  and  the  many,  who  have  distinct  interests. 

If  government  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  they  will  tyran- 
nize over  the  many. 

If  (in)  the  hands  of  the  many,  they  will  tyrannize  over 
the  few.  It  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  both ;  and  they 
should  be  separated. 

This  separation  must  be  permanent. 

Representation  alone  will  not  do. 

Demagogues  will  generally  prevail. 

And  if  separated,  they  will  need  a  mutual  check. 

This  check  is  a  monarch. 

Each  principle  ought  to  exist  in  full  force,  or  it  will  not 
answer  its  end. 

The  democracy  must  be  derived  immediately  from  the 
people. 

The  aristocracy  ought  to  be  entirely  separated ;  their 
power  should  be  permanent,  and  they  should  have  the 
caritas  liberorum. 

*  In  Madison's  very  imperfect  report  of  this  speech,  the  authority  of 
Neckar  is  alone  adduced.  The  opinion  entertained  of  him  at  that  time,  is 
seen  in  the  eloquent  commendation  of  Edmund  Burke.  "  I  behold  a  fabric 
laid  on  the  natural  and  solid  foundation  of  trust  and  confidence  among 
men,  and  rising  by  fair  gradation,  order  above  order,  according  to  the  just 
rules  of  symmetry  and  art — principle,  method,  regularity,  economy,  frugality, 
justice  to  individuals  and  care  of  the  people,  are  the  resources  with  which 
France  makes  war  upon  Great  Britain. — The  minister  who  does  these  things 
is  a  great  man." 


HAMILTON.  487 

They  should  be  so  circumstanced  that  they  can  have  no 
interest  in  a  change — as  to  have  an  effectual  weight  in  the 
constitution. 

Their  duration  should  be  the  earnest  of  wisdom  and 
stability. 

'Tis  essential  there  should  be  a  permanent  will  in  a  com- 
munity. 

Vox  populi,  vox  Dei. 

Source  of  government — the  unreasonableness  of  the 
people — separate  interests — debtors  and  creditors,  &c. 

There  ought  to  be  a  principle  in  government  capable 
of  resisting  the  popular  current. 

No  periodical  duration  will  come  up  to  this. 

This  will  always  imply  hopes  and  fears. 

Creature  and  Creator. 

Popular  assemblies  governed  by  a  few  individuals. 

These  individuals  seeing  their  dissolution  approach,  will 
sacrifice. 

The  principle  of  representation  will  influence. 

The  most  popular  branch  will  acquire  an  influence  over 
the  other. 

The  other  may  check  in  ordinary  cases,  in  which  there 
is  no  strong  public  passion  ;  but  it  will  not  in  cases  where 
there  is — the  cases  in  which  such  a  principle  is  most  ne- 
cessary. 

DC/3  Suppose  duration  seven  years,  and  rotation. 
One-seventh  will  have  only  one  year  to  serve. 

One-seventh two  years. 

One-seventh three  years. 

One-seventh four  years. 

A  majority  will  look  to  a  dissolution  in  four  years  by 
instalments. 

The  monarch  must  have  proportional  strength.  He 
ought  to  be  hereditary,  and  to  have  so  much  power,  that  it 
will  not  be  his  interest  to  risk  much  to  acquire  more. 


488  THE    LIFE    OP 

The  advantage  of  a  monarch  is  this — he  is  above  cor- 
ruption— he  must  always  intend,  in  respect  to  foreign  na- 
tions, the  true  interest  and  glory  of  the  people. 

Republics  liable  to  foreign  corruption  and  intrigue — 
Holland — Athens. 

Effect  of  the  British  government. 

A  vigorous  execution  of  the  laws — and  a  vigorous 

defence  of  the  people,  will  result. 
Better  chance  for  a  good  administration. 
It  is  said  a  republican  government  does  not  admit  a 

vigorous  execution. 

It  is  therefore  bad  ;  for  the  goodness  of  a  government 
consists  in  a  vigorous  execution. 

The  principle  chiefly  intended  to  be  established  is  this — 
that  there  must  be  a  permanent  will. 

Gentlemen  say  we  need  to  be  rescued  from  the  democ- 
racy. But  what  the  means  proposed  ? 

A  democratic  assembly  is  to  be  checked  by  a  democratic 
senate,  and  both  these  by  a  democratic  chief  magistrate. 

The  end  will  not  be  answered — the  means  will  not  be 
equal  to  the  object. 

It  will,  therefore,  be  feeble  and  inefficient. 

RECAPITULATION. 

I.  Impossible  to  secure  the  union  by  any  modification 
of  foederal  government. 

II.  League,  offensive  and  defensive,  full  of  certain  evils 
and  greater  dangers. 

III.  General  government,  very  difficult,  if  not  impracti- 
cable, liable  to  various  objections. 

What  is  to  be  done  ? 

Answer.  Balance  inconveniences  and  dangers,  and 
choose  that  which  seems  to  have  the  fewest  objections. 

Expense  admits  of  this  answer.  The  expense  of  the 
state  governments  will  be  proportionably  diminished. 


HAMILTON.  489 

Interference  of  officers  not  so  great,  because  the  objects 
of  the  general  government  and  the  particular  ones  will  not 
be  the  same — Finance — Administration  of  private  justice. 
Energy  will  not  be  wanting  in  essential  points,  because 
the  administration  of  private  justice  will  be  carried  home 
to  men's  doors  by  the  particular  governments. 

And  the  revenues  may  be  collected  from  imposts.,  ex- 
cises, &c.  If  necessary  to  go  further,  the  general  gov- 
ernment may  make  use  of  the  particular  governments. 

The  attendance  of  members  near  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment may  be  had  in  the  lower  branch. 

And  the  upper  branch  may  be  so  constructed  as  to  in- 
duce the  attendance  of  members  from  any  part. 

But  this  proves  that  the  government  must  be  so  consti- 
tuted as  to  offer  strong  motives. 

In  short,  to  interest  all  the  passions  of  individuals. 

And  turn  them  into  that  channel. 

After  having  stated  his  theoretical  opinion  of  govern- 
ment, Hamilton  declared  "  that  the  republican  theory 
ought  to  be  adhered  to  in  this  country,  as  long  as  there 
was  any  chance  to  its  success — that  the  idea  of  a  perfect 
equality  of  political  rights  among  the  citizens,  exclusive  of 
all  permanent  or  hereditary  distinctions,  was  of  a  nature  to 
engage  the  good  wishes  of  every  good  man,  whatever 
might  be  his  theoretic  doubts ;  that  it  merited  his  best  efforts 
to  give  success  to  it  in  practice  ;  that  hitherto,  from  an  in- 
competent structure  of  the  government,  it  had  not  had  a 
fair  trial,  and  that  the  endeavour  ought  then  to  be  to  secure 
to  it  a  better  chance  of  success  by  a  government  more 
capable  of  energy  and  order."* 

The  speech  of  which  this  brief  is  given,  occupied  in  the 
delivery  between  five  and  six  hours,  and  was  pronounced 


*  Hamilton  to  Washington,  post. 
62 


490 

by  a  competent  judge,*  "  the  most  able  and  impressive  he 
had  ever  heard."f 

In  the  course  of  this  speech,  he  read  his  plan  of  govern- 
ment, not  the  propositions  which  are  found  in  the  printed 

*  Gouverneur  Morris. 

t  On  a  comparison  of  this  brief  with  Madison's  report,  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  credence  to  his  statement,  "  that  Hamilton  happened  to  call  upon  him 
when  putting  the  last  hand  to  it,  who  acknowledged  its  fidelity,  without  sug- 
gesting more  than  a  very  few  verbal  alterations,  which  were  made." 

Neither  in  the  general  outline,  nor  in  the  subdivisions,  does  it  approach  so 
near  to  accuracy  as  by  possibility  to  have  received  the  sanction  of  its  author. 
A  few  of  the  discrepancies  will  be  indicated. 

In  Madison's  report  of  the  preliminary  remarks,  to  show  that  the  states 
may  have  had  in  view  a  reference  to  the  people  at  large,  he  ascribes  this  ob- 
servation to  Hamilton  : — "  In  the  senate  of  New- York  a  proviso  was  moved, 
that  no  act  of  the  convention  should  be  binding  until  it  should  be  referred  to  the 
people,  and  ratified ;  and  the  motion  was  lost  by  a  single  voice  only  ;  the  rea- 
son assigned  being,  that  it  might  probably  be  found  an  inconvenient  shackle." 
Had  this  proviso  been  moved,  it  must  have  been  moved  on  the  28th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1787,  upon  a  resolution  introduced  by  Hamilton  in  the  assembly  on 
the  26th,  and  proposed  by  Schuyler  in  the  senate  on  that  day.  No  such  pro- 
viso was  moved. 

The  proviso  actually  moved  was  that  of  Yates,  an  adherent  of  Clinton, 
who  proposed  to  insert  a  declaration  that  "  the  alterations  and  provisions  in  the 
articles  of  confederation  should  be  not  repugnant  to,  or  inconsistent  with,  the 
constitution  of  the  state,"  and  it  was  lost  by  a  single  vote. 

Thus  Hamilton  is  represented  as  sanctioning  the  accuracy  of  a  speech, 
which  contains  a  statement  of  an  occurrence  that  did  not  take  place,  when 
he  was  a  principal  actor  in,  and  was  familiar  with  all  the  particulars  of  what 
had  occurred  at  an  interval  of  less  than  four  months. 

As  the  ground  of  the  opposition  of  his  colleagues,  and  that  on  which  they 
soon  after  withdrew  from  the  convention,  was,  that  it  was  exceeding  its  pow- 
ers, it  is  obvious,  if  he  had  made  such  a  statement,  that  it  would  have  been 
controverted  by  them,  and  shown  to  have  been  erroneous  by  referring  to  the 
journals  of  New -York.  As  no  such  statement  was  made  by  Hamilton,  no 
contradiction  of  it  is  found  in  the  notes  of  Yates ;  but  his  actual  representa- 
tion,  and  which  corresponds  with  the  fact,  is  there  correctly  given.  "  Nor 
can  we,"  he  observed,  in  reply  to  Lansing,}  "  suppose  an  annihilation  of  our 
powers  by  forming  a  national  government,  as  many  of  the  states  have  made 

1  Yates'  Debatee,  130.    New- York  Journals.  1787,  pp.  44,  45,  February  28th. 


HAMILTON.  491 

journal,  but  "  a  full  plan,  so  prepared  that  it  might  have 
gone  into  immediate  effect  if  it  had  been  adopted." 

This  plan  consisted  of  ten  articles,  each  article  being 
divided  into  sections. 

in  their  constitutions  no  provisions  for  any  alterations  ;  and  thus  much  /  can 
say  for  the  state  I  have  the  honour  to  represent,  that  when  our  credentials 
were  under  consideration  in  the  senate,  some  members  were  for  inserting  a 
restriction  on  the  powers,  to  prevent  an  encroachment  on  the  constitution. 
It  was  answered  by  others ;  and,  therefore,  the  resolve  carried  on  the  creden- 
tials, that  it  might  abridge  some  of  the  constitutional  powers  of  the  state,  and 
possibly,  in  the  formation  of  a  new  union,  it  would  be  found  necessary.  This 
appears  reasonable,  and  therefore  leaves  us  at  liberty  to  form  such  a  national 
government  as  we  think  best  adapted  to  the  good  of  the  whole." 

In  the  enumeration  of  the  supports  of  government,  Madison,  880,  represents 
Hamilton  as  stating  the  second  to  be  "  the  love  of  power.  Men  love  power. 
The  same  remarks  are  applicable  to  this  principle : — the  states  have  con- 
stantly shown  a  disposition  rather  to  regain  the  powers  delegated  by  them, 
than  to  part  with  more,  or  to  give  effect  to  what  they  had  parted  with !  The 
ambition  of  their  demagogues  is  known  to  hate  the  control  of  the  general 
government."  Could  he  have  embraced  "  the  love  of  power,"  producing 
such  consequences  as  are  here  enumerated,  among  "  the  supports  of  govern- 
ment ?" 

Yates  states  the  second  support  thus,  "  Utility  and  necessity,"  which 
agrees  with  the  brief,  each  confirming  the  accuracy  of  the  other.  And 
sequently,  when  he  represents  Hamilton  as  saying  "  men  always  love  pow 
he  represents  him  as  adding  the  observation,  "  and  states  will  prefer  partic 
lar  concerns  to  the  general  welfare."  In  No.  15  of  the  Federalist,  after 
speaking  of  the  perpetual  effort  "  of  the  states,  or  inferior  orbs,  to  fly  off  from 
the  common  centre,"  Hamilton  observes:  "  This  tendency  is  not  difficult  to 
be  accounted  for — it  has  its  origin  in  the  love  of  power.  Power  controlled,  or 
abridged,  is  almost  always  the  rival  and  enemy  of  that  power  by  which  it  is 
controlled  or  abridged."  The  third  support  stated  by  Hamilton,  Madison, 
says,  was  "  an  habitual  attachment  by  the  people."  Yates  concurs  with  the 
brief,  in  stating  it  to  be  "  an  habitual  sense  of  obligation."* 

A  more  remarkable  feature  in  this  report  is,  that  Madison,  in  order  to  leave 
the  impression  that  Hamilton  contemplated  a  monarchy,  omits  the  declara- 
tion ascribed  to  him  by  Yates.  "  /  despair  that  a  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment can  remove  the  difficulties.  Whatever  may  be  my  opinion,  I  would 

*  Yates,  191.  If  this  should  be  called  a  verbal  difference,  it  will  be  recollected  that  Hamilton 
u  said  to  have  acknowledged  "  the  fidelity  of  his  report,  without  suggesting  more  than  a  very 
few  verbal  alterations."  Would  he  not  have  suggested  an  alteration  of  this  error  1 


492  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  first  of  these  declared  that  the  "legislative  power 
should  be  vested  in  an  assembly  and  senate,  subject  to  a 
negative ;  the  executive  power,  with  specified  qualifica- 
tions, in  a  president  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  supreme 
judicial  authority,  with  certain  exceptions,  in  a  supreme 
court,  to  consist  of  not  less  than  six,  nor  more  than  twelve, 
judges. 

The  assembly  of  representatives  were  (by  the  second  ar- 
ticle) to  be  chosen  by  the  free  male  citizens  and  inhabitants 
of  the  several  states  in  the  union,  all  of  whom,  of  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  were  to  be  entitled  to 
an  equal  vote.  The  first  assembly  was  to  consist  of  one 
hundred  members,  which  were  distributed  among  the 
states — the  most  populous  state,  Virginia,  having  sixteen, 
and  the  least  populous,  Delaware,  having  two  representa- 
tives. The  whole  number  was  never  to  be  less  than  one 


hold  it,  however,  unwise  to  change  that  form  of  government."*  Thus  con- 
curring with  the  declaration  previously  more  accurately  given,  in  his  own 
language,  "  that  the  republican  theory  ought  to  be  adhered  to  in  this  country 
as  long  as  there,  was  any  chance  of  its  success  ;  that  the  idea  of  a  perfect  equaJ- 
of  all  political  rights  among  the  citizens,  exclusive  of  all  permanent  and 
itary  distinctions,  was  of  a  nature  to  engage  the  good  wishes  of  every 
man,  whatever  might  be  his  theoretic  doubts ;  that  it  merited  his  best 
efforts  to  give  success  to  it  in  practice ;  that  hitherto,  from  an  incompetent 
structure  of  the  government,  it  had  not  had  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  the  en- 
deavour  ought  then  to  be,  to  secure  to  it  a  better  chance  of  success,  by  a  gov- 
ernment more  capable  of  energy  and  ojder." 

No  true  friend  of  his  fame  can  regret  that  he  entertained,  and,  entertain- 
ing, expressed  these  theoretic  doubts ;  and  it  is  the  sublimest  aspect  of  his 
character,  that,  in  despite  of  these  doubts,  he  devoted  "  the  best  efforts"  of 
his  life  to  give  this  experiment  of  "  a  perfect  equality  of  political  rights,  suc- 
cess in  practice." 


*  Madison,  893,  says  in  a  note  :  "  The  explanatory  observations,  which  did  not  immediately 
follow,  were  to  have  been  famished  by  Air.  H..  who  did  not  find  leisure  at  the  time  to  write  them 
out,  and  they  were  not  obtained."  It  is  not  probable  Hamilton,  approving  his  report  of  the 
speech,  as  he  alleges,  would  have  omitted  such  important  explanatory  observations.  But  if  he 
did  so  omit  them,  it  was  incumbent  upon  Madison  to  have  given  the  substance  of  them.  On 
reading  them,  the  motive  to  this  omission  becomes  obvious. 


HAMILTON.  493 

hundred,  nor  more  than  a  given  number,  which  was  not 
fixed,  to  be  apportioned  among  the  states  by  a  decennial 
census  of  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  except  In- 
dians not  taxed,  and  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons :  the 
term  of  service  was  to  be  determined  by  the  legislature,  but 
was  not  to  exceed  three  years,  and  to  commence  and  end 
the  same  day.  It  was  to  choose  its  own  officers,  to  judge 
and  decide  on  the  qualifications  and  elections  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  to  have  the  exclusive  power  of  impeachment ; 
but  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  was  necessary  to  im- 
peach a  senator. 

Revenue  bills  and  appropriations  for  the  support  of 
fleets  and  armies,  and  for  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  gov- 
ernment, were  to  originate  in  this  body,  but  might  be  al- 
tered or  amended  by  the  senate.  The  acceptance  of  of- 
fice under  the  United  States,  vacated  a  seat  in  it.  Thus, 
in  the  constituency  of  this  branch  of  the  government,  (all 
the  citizens  and  inhabitants  of  the  union,)  the  principle  of 
UNIVERSAL  SUFFRAGE  was  recognised,  and  the  democratic 
interests  were  fully  represented.  Its  power  over  the  purse, 
the  sword,  and  over  impeachments,  gave  it  the  means  to 
resist  usurpation,  and  rendered  it  an  efficient  counterpoise 
to  the  more  durable  members  of  the  government,  and  the 
natural  guardian  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people. 

The  tfiird  article  related  to  the  second  branch  of  the  le- 
gislature. The  senate  were  also  representatives  of  the 
people,  but  under  the  modifications  that  the  senators  were 
to  be  chosen  by  electors  elected  in  districts  of  the  states 
for  that  purpose,  and  only  by  persons  who  had  an  estate 
in  land  for  life,  or  for  an  unexpired  term  of  not  less  than 
fourteen  years.  The  first  senate  was  to  be  apportioned 
among  the  states  as  the  convention  should  decide.  For 
the  purpose  of  future  elections,  the  states  which  had  more 
than  one  senator,  were  to  be  divided  into  convenient  dis- 
tricts, to  which  senators  were  to  be  apportioned.  A  state 


494  THE    LIFE    OF 

having  one  senator,  to  be  a  district.  In  case  of  death,  re- 
signation, or  the  removal  of  a  senator  from  office,  his  place 
was  to  be  supplied  by  a  new  election  in  the  district  from 
which  he  came  ;  and  upon  each  election  there  were  not  to 
be  less  than  six  nor  more  than  twelve  electors  chosen  in 
a  district.  The  senate  was  never  to  consist  of  less  than 
forty  members,  nor  was  any  slate  to  have  a  less  number 
than  that  originally  allotted  to  it ;  but  the  number  might 
be  increased  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  repre- 
sentatives in  the  ratio  of  forty  to  one  hundred  ;  the  increase 
to  be  apportioned  among  the  states  according  to  the  re- 
spective numbers  of  their  representatives.  The  senators 
were  to  hold  during  good  behaviour,  removable  only  by 
conviction  on  impeachment  for  some  crime  or  misdemea- 
nor, and  might  vote  by  proxy,  but  no  senator  present  was 
to  hold  more  than  two  proxies.  To  the  senate,  thus  repre- 
senting the  numbers  and  property  of  the  country,  compo- 
sing a  not  numerous  body,  and  removed  from  immediate 
popular  influences  and  passions,  were  confided  the  sole 
power  of  declaring  war,  and  a  control  over  the  patronage 
of  the  government,  by  requiring  its  consent  to  executive 
appointments,  which  consent  was  also  necessary  to  the 
ratification  of  treaties. 

By  the  fourth  article,  the  president  was  to  be  elected  by 
electors  chosen  by  electors  chosen  by  the  people  in  election 
districts.  The  first  electors  of  each  state  were  to  be  equal 
in  number  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  represen- 
tatives of  such  state  in  the  national  legislature.  They  were 
to  be  chosen  by  its  citizens  having  an  estate  of  inheritance, 
or  for  three  lives  in  land,  or  a  clear  personal  estate  of  the 
value  of  a  thousand  Spanish  dollars  of  the  then  standard. 
These  first  electors  of  each  state,  meeting  together,  were 
to  vote  for  a  president  by  ballot,  not  being  one  of  their 
own  number.  Then  they  were  to  nominate  openly  two 
persons  as  second  electors  v  and  out  of  the  nominees  having 


HAMILTON.  495 

the  four  highest  numbers,  were  to  choose  by  ballot,  by  plu- 
rality of  votes,  two  who  were  to  be  the  second  electors  of 
each  state.  These  second  electors,  neither  of  whom  could 
be  voted  for  as  president,  were  to  meet  on  an  appointed 
day,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  chief-justice,  or  of  a  senior 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  were  to 
open  the  lists  of  the  persons  voted  for  by  the  first  electors. 
The  person  having  a  majority  of  the  whole  number,  was 
to  be  president.  If  there  was  not  a  majority,  then  the  se- 
cond electors  were  to  vote  for  one  of  the  three  persons 
having  the  highest  number  of  the  votes  of  the  first  electors ; 
and  the  person  having  a  number  of  votes  equal  to  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  number  of  the  second  electors  chosen, 
was  to  be  the  president.  But  if  no  such  second  choice 
should  be  made,  then  the  person  having  the  highest  num- 
ber of  votes  of  the  first  electors,  was  to  be  president.  By 
this  complicated  process,  it  was  hoped  to  obtain  a  correct- 
ed expression  of  the  public  wishes  in  the  choice  of  the 
chief  magistrate,  who  was  still  the  representative  of  the 
people. 

The  president  was  to  take  an  oath,  "  faithfully  to  exe- 
cute his  office,  and  to  the  utmost  of  his  judgment  and  power 
to  protect  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  preserve  the  con- 
stitution inviolate."  He  was  to  hold  his  office  during  good 
behaviour,  removable  only  by  conviction  upon  impeach- 
ment of  some  crime  or  misdemeanor.  He  was  to  have 
power  to  convene  and  to  prorogue  the  legislature  ;  to  have 
a  negative  on  the  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  assembly  and 
senate  ;  to  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed ;  to 
be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  navy,  and  militia ;  and 
to  have  the  direction  of  war  when  commenced,  but  not  to 
take  the  actual  command  in  the  field  without  the  consent 
of  the  senate  and  assembly ;  to  have  the  absolute  appoint- 
ment of  the  chief  officers  of  the  four  great  executive  de- 
partments, and  the  nomination,  and,  with  the  advice  of  the 


THE    LIFE    OF 

senate,  the  appointment  of  all  other  officers,  except  such 
as  were  differently  provided  for  by  the  constitution,  re- 
serving to  the  legislatures  the  power  of  appointing  by  name, 
in  their  laws,  persons  to  execute  special  trusts,  and  leaving 
to  ministerial  officers  the  appointment  of  their  deputies. 
He  might  fill  vacancies  temporarily  in  the  recess  of  the 
senate,  and  could  pardon  all  offences  except  treason,  which 
required  the  assent  of  the  senate  and  assembly.  He  might 
be  impeached  by  two-thirds  of  the  legislature,  two-thirds 
of  each  house  concurring.  If  convicted,  to  be  removed 
from  office,  and  then  tried  and  punished  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  law.  His  impeachment  was  to  operate  as  a  sus- 
pension, until  determined.  His  compensation  was  to  be 
fixed,  and  not  to  be  increased  or  diminished  during  his 
term  of  service.  If  he  departed  the  United  States,  his  of- 
fice was  abdicated. 

The  president  of  the  senate  was  to  be  vice-president ; 
to  exercise  all  the  powers  of  the  president  in  case  of  his 
death,  resignation,  impeachment,  removal  from  office,  or 
absence  from  the  United  States,  until  another  was  chosen. 

The  chief-justice,  and  other  judges  of  the  supreme  court, 
were  (by  the  fifth  article)  to  hold  during  good  behaviour, 
removable  by  impeachment  and  conviction.  They  were 
to  have  original  jurisdiction  in  all  causes  in  which  the 
United  States  shall  be  a  party  :  in  all  controversies  between 
the  United  States  and  a  particular  state,  or  between  two 
or  more  states,  except  questions  of  territory ;  in  all  cases 
affecting  foreign  ministers,  consuls,  and  agents :  and  an  ap- 
pellate jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  in  all  cases 
concerning  the  citizens  of  foreign  nations  ;  in  all  questions 
between  the  citizens  of  different  states,  and  in  all  others  in 
which  the  fundamental  rights  of  the  constitution  were  in- 
volved, subject  to  specified  exceptions,  and  to  the  regula- 
tions of  the  legislature.  The  judges  of  all  courts  which 
might  be  constituted  by  the  legislature,  were  also  to  hold 


HAMILTON.  497 

during  good  behaviour,  removable  by  impeachment,  and 
were  to  have  competent  salaries,  to  be  paid  at  stated  times, 
and  not  to  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office ; 
but  the  legislatures  might  abolish  the  courts  themselves. 

All  crimes,  except  on  impeachment,  were  to  be  tried  by 
a  jury  of  twelve  men,  in  the  state  where  committed  ;  and 
all  civil  causes  arising  under  the  constitution,  before  triable 
by  jury  in  the  states,  were  also  to  be  tried  by  jury,  unless 
two-thirds  of  the  national  legislature  should,  in  special 
cases,  concur  in  a  different  provision. 

When  offices  were  of  such  duration  as  good  behaviour, 
it  was  felt  to  be  highly  important  to  provide  an  efficacious 
and  independent  tribunal  of  impeachment ;  and  as  not  only 
the  rights  of  the  nation,  but  of  the  states,  were  to  be  guarded, 
to  have  reference  in  its  constitution  to  the  general  and  par- 
ticular governments. 

With  this  view,  a  court  of  impeachment  was  to  be  insti- 
tuted, by  which  the  president,  vice-president,  the  senators, 
governors,  and  presidents  of  the  states,  the  principal  offi- 
cers of  the  great  executive  departments,  ambassadors  and 
public  ministers,  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  generals  and 
admirals  of  the  navy,  were  to  be  tried.  This  court  was  to 
consist  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and  of  the  chief 
justice,  or  first  or  senior  judge,  of  the  supreme  court  of  law 
of  each  state,  of  whom  twelve  were  to  compose  a  court, 
and  a  majority  might  convict.  All  other  persons,  when 
impeached,  were  to  be  tried  by  a  court  to  consist  of  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  and  six  senators,  drawn  J)y 
lot,  a  majority  of  whom  might  convict.  Provisions  were 
made  for  conducting  these  impeachments.  Such  was  to 
have  been  the  permanent  structure  of  this  government. 

The  danger  of  collisions  between  the  states,  arising  out 
of  conflicting  claims  of  territory,  had  been  presented  to 
Hamilton,  in  the  progress  of  the  controversy  between  New- 
York  and  Vermont.  Other  claims  were  unsettled.  He 

63 


498  T^HE    LIFE    OF 

proposed  (in  a  sixth  article)  that  a  court  should  be  formed, 
when  territorial  controversies  should  arise,  of  persons  to 
be  nominated  by  the  controverting  states,  not  their  own 
citizens,  double  the  number  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court,  one-half  of  whom,  elected  by  the  senate,  should, 
with  the  judges  of  that  court,  decide  the  appeal. 

In  the  resolutions  prepared  by  Hamilton  in  seventeen 
hundred  and  eighty-three,  it  is  seen  that  the  leading  defect  of 
the  confederation  proposed  to  be  corrected  by  him  was,  its 
"  confining  the  federal  government  within  too  narrow  limits ; 
withholding  from  it  that  efficacious  authority  and  influence  in 
all  matters  of  general  concern,  which  are  indispensable  to 
the  harmony  and  welfare  of  the  whole  ;  embarrassing  gen- 
eral provisions  by  unnecessary  details  and  inconvenient  ex- 
ceptions, incompatible  with  their  nature,  tending  only  to  cre- 
ate jealousies  and  disputes  respecting  the  proper  bounds  of 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  that  of  the  particular 
states,  and  a  mutual  interference  of  the  one  with  the  other." 

It  was  a  settled  maxim  in  his  mind,  "  that  a  government 
ought  to  contain  within  itself  every  power  requisite  to  the 
full  accomplishment  of  the  objects  committed  to  its  care, 
and  to  the  complete  execution  of  the  trusts  for  which  it  is 
responsible ;  free  from  every  other  control  but  a  regard 
for  the  public  good,  and  to  the  sense  of  the  people." 

Another  maxim  was,  "  that  every  power  ought  to  be 
commensurate  with  its  object ;  that  there  ought  to  be  no 
limitation  of  a  power  destined  to  affect  a  purpose  which  is 
of  itself  incapable  of  limitation."  Applying  these  enlarged 
and  obvious  principles,  and  having  sought  to  guard,  in  the 
structure  of  the  government,  against  an  abuse  of  its  pow- 
ers, he  declared,  in  the  seventh  article  of  this  constitution, 
that  "  the  legislature  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power 
to  pass  all  laws  which  they  shall  judge  necessary  to  the 
common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  union." 

As  a  check  upon  this  power,  every  act,  bill,  or  resolu- 


HAMILTON.  499 

tion,  was  to  have  the  assent  of  the  president,  which,  if  not 
given  within  ten  days  after  such  act  being  presented  to 
him,  was  to  become  a  law,  of  which  the  enacting  style 
was  to  be,  that  it  was  "  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  of  America ;"  thus  recognising  in  every  exer- 
cise of  legislative  power  the  sovereignty  and  unity  of  the 
American  people.  This  general  power  was  followed  by 
the  declaration  of  a  few  general  restrictions  in  the  nature 
of  a  bill  of  rights,  either  suggested  by  the  experience  of 
this  countiy,  or  having  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  danger  of  legislative  tyranny,  and  of  retrospective 
laws,  not  only  to  the  domestic  peace,  but  to  the  foreign 
relations  of  the  country,  had  been  too  immediately  before 
him  not  to  have  commanded  his  attention.  To  provide 
an  efficient  check  to  such  pernicious  proceedings,  he 
framed  a  clause  declaring  "  that  no  bill  of  attainder  or 
ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed  ;"  and  adopting  the  lan- 
guage of  the  articles  of  the  confederation,  and  thus  add- 
ing guards  to  the  republican  system,  he  provided  that  no 
title  of  nobility  should  be  granted  by  the  United  States,  or 
either  of  them,  and  that  no  person  holding  any  office  or 
trust  under  the  United  States  should,  without  permission 
of  the  legislature,  accept  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or 
title,  from  a  foreign  prince  or  state.  "  The  prohibition  of 
titles  of  nobility,"  he  said,  "  may  truly  be  denominated  the 
corner-stone  of  republican  government ;  for,  so  long  as 
titles  of  nobility  are  excluded,  there  can  never  be  serious 
danger  that  the  government  will  be  any  other  than  that  of 
the  people." 

To  preclude  the  recurrence  of  such  an  attempt  as  he 
had  recently  defeated  in  the  assembly  of  New- York,  and 
carrying  out  the  principle  that  is  seen  in  his  system  of 
public  instruction,  he  embodied  in  the  constitution  the 
proviso,  so  important  to  the  interests  of  religion,  to  free- 


500  THE    LIFE    OF 

dom  of  opinion,  and  to  the  peace  of  society,  "  nor  shall 
any  religious  sect,  or  denomination,  or  religious  test  for 
any  office  or  place,  be  ever  established  by  law." 

In  forming  a  government  founded  upon  a  full  recogni- 
tion of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  it  is  seen  that  he  had 
apportioned  the  representation  to  the  number  of  free  in- 
habitants ;  thus  following  this  great  principle  to  its  appro- 
priate result.  But  in  apportioning  the  direct  contribu- 
tions of  the  states  to  the  public  treasury,  there  being  no 
common  measure  of  a  nation's  wealth,  he  took  a  basis 
which,  in  the  peculiar  condition  of  this  country,  promised 
a  nearer  approach  to  equality  than  any  other.  "  Taxes 
on  lands,  houses,  and  other  real  estate,  and  capitation 
taxes,  were  to  be  proportioned  in  each  state  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  except  Indians  not  taxed,  and 
three-fifths  of  all  other  persons." 

As  the  command  over  the  purse  of  the  nation  was  in- 
tended by  him  to  be  a  real  check  upon  the  action  of  the 
government,  and  with  this  view  the  originating  revenue 
bills  had  been  given  to  the  popular  branch,  he  provided 
"  that  the  two  houses  might  by  joint  ballot  appoint  a  trea- 
surer of  the  United  States,"  thus  securing  the  custody  of  the 
revenues  of  the  nation  to  the  department  it  had  intrusted 
with  raising  and  appropriating  them. 

A  government  performing  its  great  office  of  providing 
for  the  common  defence  and  safety,  and  for  the  general 
welfare,  by  its  own  comprehensive  organs,  acting  upon  indi- 
viduals, the  only  proper  objects  of  government,  would 
perhaps  have  possessed  a  sufficiently  central  power  to  have 
maintained  its  due  ascendency.  But  as  the  state  govern- 
ments were  to  continue  in  order  to  prevent  collision,  it  was 
declared  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties 
made  under  the  articles  of  the  confederation,  and  to  be 
made  under  the  constitution,  were  to  be  the  supreme  law 
of  the  land,  and  to  be  so  construed  by  the  several  courts  of 


HAMILTON.  501 

the  several  states.  The  legislature  was  to  convene  once  in 
each  year,  which,  unless  otherwise  provided  for  by  law, 
should  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December ;  to  receive  a 
reasonable  compensation  fixed  by  law,  no  succeeding  as- 
sembly to  increase  its  own  compensation. 

The  preceding  injunction,  that  the  laws  and  treaties  of 
the  United  States  "  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land," 
obligatory  on  all  the  courts,  guarded  against  conflicts  with 
the  legislation  of  the  states,  and  in  theoiy  secured  the  ne- 
cessary supremacy  to  the  judiciary  power  of  the  general 
government ;  but  that  power  might  be  rendered  nugatory 
by  a  defective  execution  of  those  laws.  The  position  of 
New  York  at  that  moment  indicated  the  danger  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  the  executive  trust  of  the  states  being  in- 
dependent of  the  government  of  the  union. 

To  provide  against  both  these  evils,  he  declared  (in  the 
eighth  article)  that  the  governor  or  president  of  each  state 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  a  negative  on  all  laws  about  to  be  passed  in  the 
state  of  which  he  shall  be  governor  or  president,  subject  to 
such  regulations  as  the  legislature  of  the  United  States 
shall  prescribe,  but  in  all  other  respects,  except  as  to  the 
appointment  of  the  officers  of  the  militia,  to  have  the  same 
powers  the  constitution  of  the  states  then  did  or  should 
allow.  Each  governor  or  president  of  a  state  was  to 
hold  his  office  until  a  successor  was  actually  appointed, 
which  could  not  be  during  the  recess  of  the  senate,  "  un- 
less he  died,  resigned,  or  was  removed  on  impeachment." 

The  officers  of  the  militia  might  be  appointed  under  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  unless  its  legislature  au- 
thorized their  appointment  by  the  governors  or  presidents 
of  the  states ;  and,  to  avoid  any  obstruction  from  that 
source,  the  governors  and  presidents  of  the  states  at  the 
time  of  the  ratification  of  the  constitution,  were  to  con- 
tinue in  office  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  the  same  pow- 


502  THE    LIFE    OF 

ers,  as  if  they  had  been  appointed  by  the  president  and 
senate  of  the  United  States. 

"  If  it  be  possible,"  Hamilton  observed,  "  to  construct  a 
federal  government  capable  of  regulating  the  common 
concerns,  and  preserving  the  general  tranquillity,  it  must 
carry  its  agency  to  the  persons  of  its  citizens.  It  must 
stand  in  need  of  no  intermediate  legislations,  but  must  it- 
self be  empowered  to  employ  the  arm  of  the  ordinary 
magistrate  to  execute  its  own  resolutions.  The  majesty 
of  the  national  authority  must  be  manifested  through  the 
medium  of  the  courts  of  justice.  The  government  of  the 
union,  like  that  of  each  state,  must  be  able  to  address  itself 
immediately  to  the  hopes  and  fears  of  individuals,  and  to 
attract  to  its  support  those  passions  which  have  the  strong- 
est influence  upon  the  human  heart.  It  must,  in  short, 
possess  all  the  means,  and  have  a  right  to  resort  to  all  the 
methods,  of  executing  the  powers  with  which  it  is  intrust- 
ed, that  are  possessed  and  exercised  by  the  governments 
of  particular  states." 

Under  this- important  provision  as  to  the  appointments 
of  these  governors  and  presidents,  the  administration  of 
the  general  government,  pervading  the  states,  would  have 
executed  itself,  while  their  legislatures  would  have  retained 
the  control  of  that  part  of  internal  police  which  relates 
"  to  the  rights  of  property  and  life  among  individuals,  the 
administration  of  justice,  the  supervision  of  agriculture, 
and  of  such  things  as  are  proper  for  local  legislation." 
The  advantages  would  thus  have  been  attained  of  the  re- 
productiveness  of  the  civil  power,  and  of  its  diffusive  force 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  republic,  and  the  state 
legislatures  would  have  acted  as  sentinels  to  warn  against 
the  first  approach  of  usurpation. 

The  ninth  article  provided  that  the  president  must  then 
be  "  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  states,  or  hereafter  be  born  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States ;"  that  senators  and  represen- 


HAMILTON.  503 

tatives  must  be  citizens  and  inhabitants  of  the  state  in 
which  they  were  chosen. 

Prompted  by  the  recent  proceedings  in  New- York,  he 
also  provided  that  no  person  eligible  as  president,  or  to  the 
legislature,  shall  be  disqualified  but  by  the  conviction  of 
some  offence  for  which  the  law  shall  have  previously  or- 
dained the  punishment  of  disqualification ;  but  that  the 
legislature  might  provide  by  law  that  persons  holding 
offices  under  the  United  States,  or  either  of  them,  shall  not 
be  eligible  to  the  assembly,  and  "  shall  be,  during  their  con- 
tinuance in  office,  suspended  from  sitting  in  the  senate." 
The  citizens  of  each  state  were  to  be  entitled  to  all  the 
immunities  of  citizens  of  other  states,  and  full  faith  and 
credit  was  to  be  given  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  ju- 
dicial proceedings  of  each  ;  fugitives  from  justice  were 
to  be  delivered  up ; — provisions  taken  from  the  articles  of 
confederation.  No  new  state  was  to  be  formed  without 
the  concurrent  consent  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
states  concerned ;  but  new  states  might  be  admitted  by 
the  general  legislature  into  the  union.  The  United  States 
were  declared  bound  to  guaranty  a  republican  form  of 
government  to  each  state,  and  to  protect  it  as  well  against 
domestic  violence  as  against  foreign  invasion ;  a  provision 
drawn  from  the  propositions  of  Randolph,  but  essentially 
enlarged — supplying,  as  Hamilton  observed,  "  a  capital  im- 
perfection" in  the  articles  of  the  confederation. 

All  treaties,  contracts,  and  engagements  under  those  ar- 
ticles, were  to  have  equal  validity  under  the  constitution  ; 
no  state  could  enter  into  a  treaty  or  alliance  with  another, 
or  with  a  foreign  power,  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States.  The  members  of  the  legislature  of  the  United 
States  and  of  each  state,  and  all  officers,  executive  and 
judicial,  were  to  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Though  a  change  of  government  would  not  have  dis- 


504  THE    LIFE    OF 

solved  existing  treaties  not  inconsistent  with  its  principles, 
yet  Hamilton's  knowledge  of  the  distinctions  of  interna- 
tional law  would  teach  him  the  importance  of  a  full  and 
explicit  declaration  on  this  important  subject,  as  a  guard 
of  the  interests  and  of  the  faith  of  the  nation.  In  the  ab- 
solute prohibition  of  treaties  by  the  states  with  foreign 
powers,  the  restrictive  clause  of  the  confederation  was  ex- 
tended, and  the  requisition  of  an  oath  to  support  the  con- 
stitution was  a  useful  additional  bond.  Amendments  to  it 
were  to  be  proposed  by  two-thirds  of  both  houses,  to  be 
ratified  by  the  legislatures  or  conventions  in  two-thirds  of 
the  states. 

Finally,  to  secure  the  immediate  operation  of  the  new 
system,  and  to  give  it  the  solemn  sanction  of  the  people, 
it  was  provided  (in  the  tenth  article)  that  the  constitution 
should  be  submitted  to  conventions  of  the  people  of  each 
state,  by  their  deputies,  chosen  under  the  direction  of  their 
respective  legislatures ;  that  each  convention  ratifying  the 
constkution  should  appoint  the  first  representatives  and 
senators  from  such  state,  the  representatives  so  appointed 
to  continue  in  office  only  one  year. 

When  the  constitution  shall  have  been  duly  ratified,  con- 
gress were  to  give  notice  of  a  day  and  place  of  meeting 
of  the  senators  and  representatives  from  the  several  states ; 
a  majority  of  whom,  when  assembled,  it  was  provided, 
shall,  by  plurality  of  voices  in  joint  ballot,  elect  a  president 
of  the  United  States,  "  and  the  constitution,  thus  organized, 
shall  be  carried  into  effect." 

From  this  abstract  it  will  be  seen,  though  Hamilton 
would  have  made  use  of  the  state  governments  for  certain 
purposes,  thus  completely  refuting  the  allegation  that  he 
contemplated  their  abrogation,  yet  it  was  his  desire  to 
have  established  a  simple  government  pervading  the  whole 
union  and  uniting  its  inhabitants  as  one  people.  As  it  was 
necessary  that  "  each  department  should  have  a  will  of  its 


HAMILTON.  505 

own,"  this  government  was  so  constituted  that  the  mem- 
bers of  each  had  no  agency  in  the  appointment  of  the 
others,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  judiciary,  each  was 
"  drawn  from  the  same  fountain  of  authority,  the  people, 
and  through  channels  having  no  communication  whatever 
with  one  another."  "  In  the  constitution  of  the  judiciary 
in  particular,"  Hamilton  remarked,  "it  might  be  inexpedient 
to  insist  rigorously  on  the  principle  ;  because  peculiar  quali- 
fications being  essential  in  the  members,  the  primary  con- 
sideration ought  to  be  to  select  that  mode  of  choice  which 
best  secures  these  qualifications,  and  because  the  perma- 
nent tenure  by  which  the  appointments  are  held  in  that 
department  must  soon  destroy  all  sense  of  dependence  on 
the  authority  conferring  them." 

"  It  is  equally  evident,"  he  observed,  "  that  the  members 
of  each  department  should  be  as  little  dependent  as  possi- 
ble on  those  of  the  others,  for  the  emoluments  annexed  to 
their  offices :"  hence  is  seen  the  provision  that  the  compen- 
sation of  the  executive  and  the  judiciary  should  be  fixed  by 
law ;  that  of  the  judges  not  to  be  diminished  during  their 
term,  and  to  guard  against  executive  influence,  that  of  the 
president  to  be  neither  increased  nor  diminished.  "In 
framing  a  government  which  is  to  be  administered  by  men 
over  men,  the  great  difficulty,"  he  said,  "  lies  in  this — you 
must  first  enable  the  government  to  control  the  governed, 
and,  in  the  next  place,  oblige  it  to  control  itself.  A  de- 
pendence on  the  people  is,  no  doubt,  a  primary  control  on 
the  government ;  but  experience  has  taught  mankind  the 
necessity  of  auxiliary  precautions."  Of  these,  the  chief 
was  "  in  the  distribution  of  the  supreme  powers  of  the 
state."  "  But  it  is  not  possible,"  he  observed,  "  to  give  to 
each  department  an  equal  power  of  self-defence.  In  re- 
publican governments,  the  legislative  authority  necessarily 
predominates.  The  remedy  for  this  inconvenience  is,  to 
divide  the  legislature  into  different  branches ;  and  to  ren- 

64 


506  THE  LIFE  or 

der  them  by  different  modes  of  election,  and  different  prin- 
ciples of  action,  as  little  connected  with  each  other  as  the 
nature  of  their  common  functions  and  their  common  depend- 
ence on  the  society  will  admit."  With  these  views  in  the 
structure  of  this  government,  while  by  the  frequent  choice  of 
the  popular  branch  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  the  demo- 
cratic influence  was  to  be  constantly  renewed  and  invi- 
gorated, in  the  duration  of  the  senate  and  executive  chosen 
by  constituents  with  property  qualifications,  he  hoped  to 
secure  efficient  and  enduring  checks  on  the  impetuosity 
and  instability  of  the  many.  The  power  of  the  people  was 
to  be  kept  up  by  a  constitutional  augmentation  of  the 
number  of  these  representatives ;  and  thus  the  barrier 
against  executive  usurpation,  if  attempted,  was  steadily 
strengthened  ;  and  "  as  the  weakness  of  the  executive,"  he 
remarked,  "may  require  that  it  should  be  fortified,"  he 
gave  him  an  "  absolute  negative  on  the  legislature,  as  the 
natural  defence  with  which  the  executive  magistrate  should 
be  armed." 

Having  provided  these  precautions,  by  the  deposit  of 
the  national  trusts  with  representatives  of  different  inter- 
ests freely  chosen  by  the  people,  and  holding  by  a  respon- 
sible and  defeasible  tenure,  governed  by  the  great  maxims 
previously  stated,  he  empowered  the  legislature  "  to  pass 
all  laws  necessary  to  the  common  defence  and  safety,  and 
to  the  general  welfare  of  the  union." 

It  would  require  an  elaborate  commentary  to  indicate 
the  character  and  adaptation  of  the  more  minute  parts  of 
this  frame  of  government  to  their  several  purposes,  nor  will 
its  qualities  be  more  fully  discussed.  If  intrinsic  de- 
fects are  seen,  they  are  defects  resulting  from  the  inherent 
difficulty  of  imparting  the  necessary  and  safe  vigour  and 
stability  to  republican  institutions,  which  exclude  the  prin- 
ciple of  hereditable  power. 

But  in  this  approach  "  to  the  confines  of  another  govern- 


HAMILTON.  507 

ment"  without  a  departure  from  the  republican  theory,  is 
seen  a  remarkable  manifestation,  both  of  the  fertility  of 
his  genius,  and  of  the  severe  and  provident  control  of  his 
reason  and  experience.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  pronounce 
on  the  probable  working  of  such  a  system,*  but  the  subse- 
quent history  of  the  country  gives  abundant  evidence, 
that  a  departure  from  some  of  its  principles  has  neither 
added  security  to  liberty  nor  promoted  the  general  wel- 
fare. 

*  Plan  in  the  Appendix. 


508  THE    LIFE    OP 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

[1787.] 

HAVING  thus  presented  to  the  convention  the  model  of 
an  efficient  government,  founded  on  the  power  of  the  peo- 
ple, Hamilton  now  exerted  all  his  influence  to  raise  their 
minds  to  a  point  which  it  is  questionable  whether  they 
would  have  otherwise  reached.  The  result  of  these  ef- 
forts may  be  seen  in  the  influence  which  the  opinions  of 
Washington,  however  cautiously  expressed,  would  exert 
over  the  members  of  that  body ;  and  in  the  direction  now 
given  to  Madison's  mind  :  both  of  whom,  Hamilton  subse- 
quently stated,  adopted  his  views,  regarding  his  plan  as 
not  exceeding  in  stability  and  strength  what  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  country  required.  "  They  were,"  in  his  own 
words,  "  completely  up  to  the  scheme." 

On  the  day  after  his  speech  was  delivered,  Madison  ad- 
dressed the  committee.*  He  stated  that  the  confederation 
might  be  dissolved  by  the  infraction  of  any  article  of  it, 
recapitulating  the  instances  in  which  it  had  been  violated. 
The  Jersey  plan  did  not  provide  for  the  ratification  of  the 
states.  Its  judiciary  was  to  have  only  an  appellate  juris- 
diction, without  providing  for  a  second  trial.  We  must 
radically  depart  from  the  federal  plan,  or  share  the  fate 
of  all  confederacies.  The  Jersey  plan  gave  no  checks  on 
the  excesses  of  the  states.  It  did  not  secure  the  internal 
tranquillity,  nor  prevent  foreign  influence. 

*  The  residue  of  the  debates  is  taken,  with  very  few  exceptions,  from 
Yates,  the  general  accuracy  of  which  is  confirmed  by  other  authorities. 


HAMILTON.  509 

How  is  military  coercion  to  enforce  government  ?  Un- 
less we  agree  upon  a  plan,  what  will  be  the  situation  of  the 
smaller  states  ?  If  they  form  partial  confederacies,  must 
they  not  make  larger  concessions  to  the  greater  states  ? 
The  large  states  cannot  assent  to  an  equal  representation. 
If  the  states  were  equalized,  state  distinctions  would  still 
exist. 

In  reply  to  an  observation  of  Wilson,  Hamilton  remark- 
ed that  he  did  not  intend  yesterday  a  total  extinguishment 
of  state  governments,  but  that  a  national  government  ought 
to  be  able  to  support  itself  without  the  aid  or  interference  of 
the  state  governments,  and  therefore  should  have  full  sove- 
reignty. Even  with  corporate  rights  the  states  will  be 
dangerous  to  the  national  government,  and  ought  to  be 
new  modified,  or  reduced  to  a  smaller  scale.  In  the  course 
of  a  series  of  forcible  and  eloquent  remarks,  King  observ- 
ed that  none  of  the  states  were  at  that  time  sovereign  or 
independent ;  many  of  their  essential  rights  were  vested  in 
congress.  By  the  confederation,  it  possesses  the  rights  of 
the  United  States.  This  is  the  union  of  the  men  of  these 
states.  None  individually  or  collectively,  except  in  con- 
gress, have  the  rights  of  peace,  or  war,  or  treaty.  The 
magistracy  in  congress  possesses  the  sovereignty.  As  to 
certain  points,  we  are  now  an  united  people  ;  consolidation 
is  already  established ;  the  states  are  confederates,  the  con- 
stituents of  a  common  sovereign,  constituted  with  powers 
partly  federal  and  partly  national.  The  alterations  which 
had  been  made,  show  others  can  be  made,  except  the  sub- 
version of  the  states,  which  are  expressly  guarantied.  The 
articles  of  the  confederation  providing  in  themselves  for  an 
alteration,  might  be  so  altered  as  to  give  them  a  national 
character.  "  The  declaration  of  independence,"  Wilson 
said,  "  preceded  the  state  constitutions.  What  does  this 
declare  ?  In  the  name  of  the  people  of  these  states,  we 
are  declared  to  be  free  and  independent  The  powers  of 


510  THE    LIFE    OP 

\var,  peace,  alliances,  and  trade,  are  declared  to  be  vested 
in  congress." 

"I  assent  to  this  remark,"  Hamilton  observed  ;  "  establish 
a  weak  government,  and  you  must,  at  times,  overleap  its 
bounds.  Rome  was  obliged  to  create  dictators.  Cannot 
propositions  bo  made  to  the  people  because  we  before  con- 
federated on  other  principles  ?  The  people  can  grant  the 
powers  if  they  will !  The  great  objects  of  industry  can 
only  be  protected  by  a  general  government."  On  motion 
of  King,  it  was  resolved  by  seven  states  that  the  Jersey 
plan  was  inadmissible. 

Having  thus  obtained  a  decided  expression  of  the  opin- 
ion of  the  convention  against  the  continuance  of  a  mere 
league  with  enlarged  powers,  they  proceeded,  on  the  twen- 
tieth of  June,  again  to  consider  the  Virginia  resolutions. 
After  an  amendment  of  the  first,  so  as  to  declare  that  "  the 
government  of  the  United  States  ought  to  consist  of  a  su- 
preme legislative,  judiciary,  and  executive,"  Lansing  moved 
a  declaration  "  that  the  powers  of  legislation  be  vested  in 
the  United  States  in  congress."*  He  stated  that  if  the  Jer- 
sey plan  was  not  adopted,  it  would  produce  the  mischiefs 
they  were  convened  to  obviate.  That  the  "  principles  of 
that  system  "  were  "  an  equality  of  representation,  and  de- 
pendence of  the  members  of  congress  on  the  states.  That 
as  long  as  state  distinctions  exist,  state  prejudices  would 
operate,  whether  the  election  be  by  the  states  or  the  peo- 
ple." If  there  was  no  interest  to  oppress,  there  was  no 
need  of  an  apportionment.  What  would  be  the  effect  of 
the  other  plan  ?  Virginia  would  have  sixteen,  Delaware 
one  representative.  Will  the  general  government  have 
leisure  to  examine  the  state  laws  ?  Will  it  have  the  neces- 
sary information?  Will  the  states  agree  to  surrender? 
Let  us  meet  public  opinion,  and  hope  the  progress  of  senti- 

*  Hamilton's  MSS.  notes,  v.  i.  p.  77. 


HAMILTON.  511 

ment  will  make  future  arrangements.  "  He  would  like  the 
system  "  of  his  colleague  (Hamilton)  "  if  it  could  be  estab- 
lished,"* but  it  was  "  a  system  without  example." 

Mason  wished  to  preserve  the  state  governments,  and  to 
•draw  lines  of  demarcation,  trusting  to  posterity  to  amend. 
He  was  in  favour  of  a  republican  system  with  a  legislature 
of  two  branches. 

Martin  urged  the  grant  of  new  powers,  and  such  a  mo- 
dification of  the  existing  system  as  would  not  endanger  the 
state  governments.  "  The  grant,"  he  said,  "  is  a  state  grant, 
and  the  union  must  be  so  organized  that  the  states  are  in- 
terested in  supporting  it."  After  further  debate,  the  pro- 
position to  vest  the  powers  of  legislation  in  congress  was 
rejected,  and  the  national  plan  was  taken  up.  On  the  ques- 
tion of  constituting  two  branches  of  the  legislature,  Johnson 
observed  "that  the  Jersey  plan  would  preserve  the  state 
governments,  and  thus  was  a  departure  from  that  of  Vir- 
ginia, which,  though  it  concentres  in  a  distinct  national  gov- 
ernment, is  not  wholly  independent  of  those  of  the  states. 

"  A  gentleman  from  New- York,  with  boldness  and  deci- 
sion, proposed  a  system  totally  different  from  both,  and, 
though  he  has  been  praised  by  every  body,  has  been  sup- 
ported by  none.  He  could  have  wished  that  the  support- 
ers of  the  Jersey  system  could  have  been  satisfied  with  that 
of  Virginia,  and  the  individuality  of  the  states  be  sup- 
ported. It  is  agreed  on  all  hands  that  a  portion  of  govern- 
ment is  to  be  left  to  the  states ;  how  can  this  be  done  ? 
By  joining  the  states  in  their  legislative  capacities,  with  the 
right  of  apportioning  the  second  branch  of  the  national 
legislature  to  represent  the  states  individually."  Wilson 
would  try  to  designate  the  powers  of  each.  Madison  ap- 
prehended the  greatest  danger  from  the  encroachments  of 

*  In  the  original  notes,  "  He  would  like  my  system  if  it  could  be  estab- 
lished— system  without  example." 


512  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  states  ;  an  apprehension  justified  by  experience.  The 
negative  on  the  state  laws  afforded  one  security  to  the  na- 
tional government.  To  draw  the  line  between  the  two 
was  a  difficult  task.  He  believed  it  could  not  be  done,  and 
was  inclined  to  a  general  government.  A  national  legis- 
lature of  two  branches  was  approved. 

On  the  question  of  the  election  of  the  first  branch  by 
the  people,  great  diversity  of  opinion  existed.  Hamilton 
again  declared  himself  in  favour  of  it.  He  observed,*  "  It 
is  essential  to  the  democratic  rights  of  the  community, 
that  this  branch  be  directly  elected  by  the  people.  Let  us 
look  to  probable  events.  There  may  arrive  a  period  when 
the  state  legislatures  may  cease.  Such  an  event  ought  not 
to  embarrass  the  national  government." 

King  concurred  in  support  of  this  principle.  He  believed 
that  the  magistrates  of  the  states  will  ever  pursue  schemes 
of  their  own  ;  and  this  state  policy  will,  if  the  states  elect 
the  first  branch,  pervade  the  national  government,  to  which 
those  of  the  states  will  ever  be  hostile.  After  an  opposite 
view  by  Pinckney  and  Rutledge,  the  resolve,  giving  the 
election  to  the  people,  was  carried,  and  the  duration  of  this 
branch  considered.  It  was  proposed  to  limit  it  to  two  years. 
Sherman  was  for  one.  Hamilton  said,f  "  There  is  a  medium ; 
I  confess  three  years  is  not  too  long  a  term :  a  representative 
ought  to  have  freedom  of  deliberation,  and  ought  to  exercise 
an  opinion  of  his  own.  I  am  convinced  the  public  mind 
will  adopt  a  solid  plan  ;  although  the  government  of  New- 
York  is  higher  toned  than  that  of  any  other  state,  yet  the 
electors  are  listless  and  indifferent.  The  public  are  not 
now  ready  to  receive  the  best  plan  of  government,  but  the 
progress  of  circumstances  will  give  it  a  different  complex- 
ion." A  biennial  term  was  then  adopted. 

*  Yates,  page  149,  omitted  in  Madison's  reports,  926. 
t  Yates,  151.     Sec  Madison,  931. 


HAMILTON.  513 

On  the  inquiry  as  to  the  compensation  of  the  members, 
Hamilton  remarked  that  "  the  states  ought  not  to  pay  the 
members,  nor  ought  the  amount  to  be  fixed  by  the  consti- 
tution. He  who  pays  is  master.  If  each  state  pays  its 
own  members,  the  burden  being  according  to  their  re- 
spective distances  from  the  seat  of  government,  would  be 
disproportionate.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  interests 
of  the  general  and  state  legislatures  are  precisely  the  same. 
This  cannot  be  correct.  The  views  of  the  governed  are 
often  materially  different  from  those  who  govern.  The 
science  of  policy  is  the  knowledge  of  human  nature.  A 
state  government  will  ever  be  the  rival  power  of  the  gen- 
eral government.  It  is,  therefore,  highly  improper  that 
the  state  legislatures  should  be  the  paymasters  of  the 
national  government.  All  political  bodies  love  power, 
and  it  will  often  be  improperly  attained."*  It  was  re- 
solved that  the  members  should  be  paid  from  the  public 
treasury. 

To  secure  the  representatives  from  influence,  it  had  been 
proposed  to  render  them  ineligible  to  any  office  establish- 
ed by  a  particular  state,  or  by  the  United  States,  during 
their  term  of  service.  It  was  now  proposed  to  expunge 
the  clause  which  extended  the  restriction  to  one  year  after 
the  expiration  of  that  term.  King  considered  it  impossi- 
ble to  carry  the  system  of  exclusion  so  far,  "  and  we  refine," 
he  said,  "  too  much  by  going  in  this  instance  to  Utopian 
lengths.  It  is  a  mere  cobweb." — "  If  there  was  no  exclusive 
clause,  Madison  thought  there  might  be  danger  of  creating 
offices,  or  augmenting  the  stipends  of  those  already  created, 
in  order  to  gratify  members  if  they  were  not  excluded. 
Such  an  instance  had  fallen  within  his  own  observation. 
He  was  of  the  opinion  that  no  office  ought  to  be  open  to  a 
member,  which  might  be  created  or  the  emolument  aug- 

*  Yates,  152-3. 
65 


514  THE   LIFE    OF 

merited  while  he  was  in  the  legislature."     Hamilton  closed 
the  debate*  with  these  remarks : — 

"  In  all  general  questions  which  become  the  subjects  of 
discussion,  there  are  always  some  truths  mixed  with  false- 
hoods. I  confess  there  is  danger  where  men  are  capable 
of  holding  two  offices.  Mankind  in  general  are  vicious — 
their  passions  may  be  operated  upon :  we  have  been 
taught  to  reprobate  the  danger  of  influence  in  the  British 
government,  without  duly  reflecting  how  far  it  is  neces- 
sary to  support  a  good  government.  We  have  taken  up 
many  ideas  upon  trust,  and  at  last,  pleased  with  our  own 
opinions,  establish  them  as  undoubted  truths.  Hume'st 
opinion  of  the  British  constitution  confirms  the  remark, 
that  there  is  always  a  body  of  firm  patriots,  who  often 
shake  a  corrupt  administration.  Take  mankind  as  they 
are,  and  what  are  they  governed  by  ?  Their  passions. 

"  There  may  be  in  every  government  a  few  choice  spirits, 
who  may  act  from  more  worthy  motives.  One  great  error 
is,  that  we  suppose  mankind  more  honest  than  they  are. 
Our  prevailing  passions  are  ambition  and  interest ;  and  it 
ever  will  be  the  duty  of  a  wise  government  to  avail  itself 
of  those  passions,  in  order  to  make  them  subservient  to  the 
public  good,  for  these  ever  induce  us  to  action. 

"  Perhaps  a  few  men  in  a  state  may,  from  patriotic  mo- 
tives, or  to  display  their  talents,  or  to  reap  the  public  ap- 
plause, step  forward.  But  if  we  adopt  this  clause,  we 
destroy  the  motive.  I  am,  therefore,  against  all  exclusions 
and  refinements,  except  this  exclusion — that  when  a  mem- 
ber takes  his  seat,  he  should  vacate  every  other  office.  It 


*  Yates,  156. 

t  "  It  was  known  that  one  of  the  ablest  politicians  (Mr.  Hume)  had  pro- 
nounced all  that  influence  on  the  side  of  the  crown  which  went  under  the 
name  of  corruption,  an  essential  part  of  the  weight  which  maintained  the 
equilibrium  of  the  constitution." 

Madison,  938,  gives  this  version  of  Hamilton's  remarks  thus  italicised. 


HAMILTON.  515 

b  difficult  to  put  any  exclusive  regulation  into  effect ;  we 
must  in  some  degree  submit  to  the  inconvenience." 

The  second  branch,  or  senate,  was  next  considered. 
Hamilton,  in  accordance  with  his  plan,  wished  that  it  should 
be  chosen  by  the  people,  through  the  medium  of  electors ; 
but  it  was  decided  that  the  choice  should  be  made  by  the 
state  legislatures.  Its  term  of  service  was  much  debated. 
Madison  said,  "  We  are  now  to  determine  whether  the  re- 
publican form  shall  be  the  basis  of  our  government."  He 
admitted  that  great  powers  were  to  be  given,  and  that  they 
might  be  abused.  Members  may  also  lose  their  attachment 
to  their  states.  Yet  the  first  branch  would  control  them 
in  many  of  their  abuses.  "  But  we  are  now  forming  a  body 
on  whose  wisdom  we  mean  to  rely,  and  their  permanency 
in  office  secures  a  proper  field  in  which  they  may  exert 
their  firmness  and  knowledge.  Democratic  communities 
may  be  unsteady,  and  be  led  to  action  by  the  impulse  of 
the  moment.  They  may  be  sensible  of  their  own  weak- 
ness, and  desire  the  counsels  and  checks  of  friends  to  guard 
them  against  the  turbulence  and  weakness  of  unruly  pas- 
sions. Such  are  the  various  pursuits  of  this  life,  that,  in 
all  civilized  countries,  the  interest  of  a  community  will  be 
divided ;  there  will  be  debtors  and  creditors,  and  an  une- 
qual possession  of  property ;  and  hence  arise  different 
views  and  different  objects  in  government.  This,  indeed, 
is  the  ground-work  of  aristocracy,  and  we  find  it  blended 
in  every  government,  both  ancient  and  modern.  Even 
where  titles  have  survived  property,  we  discover  the  noble 
beggar  haughty  and  assuming.  The  man  who  is  possessed 
of  wealth,  who  lolls  on  his  sofa  or  rolls  in  his  carriage, 
cannot  judge  of  the  wants  or  feelings  of  the  day-labourer. 

"  The  government  we  mean  to  erect  is  intended  to  last 
for  ages.  The  landed  interest  at  present  is  prevalent ;  will 
it  not  in  time,  by  the  operation  of  trade  and  manufactures, 
be  overbalanced  in  future  elections  ?  and,  unless  wisely  pro- 


516  THE    LIFE    OF 

vided  against,  what  will  become  of  your  government  ?  In 
England,  at  this  day,  if  elections  were  open  to  all  classes 
of  people,  the  property  of  the  landed  proprietors  would  be 
insecure ;  an  agrarian  law  would  soon  take  place.  If 
these  observations  be  just,  our  government  ought  to  secure 
the  permanent  interests  of  the  country  against  innovation. 
Landholders  ought  to  have  a  share  in  the  government  to 
support  these  valuable  interests,  and  to  balance  and  check 
the  other.  They  ought  to  be  so  constituted  as  to  protect  the 
minority  of  the  opulent  against  the  majority.  The  senate, 
therefore,  ought  to  be  this  body ;  and,  to  answer  these  pur- 
poses, ought  to  have  permanency  and  stability.  Various 
have  been  the  propositions ;  but  my  opinion  is,  the  longer 
they  continue  in  office,  the  better  will  their  view  be  an- 
swered."* 

Sherman  replied, "  that  a  bad  government  was  the  worse 
for  being  long ;  that  frequent  elections  give  security  and 
permanency.  That  in  Connecticut  an  annual  government 
had  existed  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  years,  and  as  long 
as  a  man  behaves  well  he  is  never  turned  out  of  office. 
Four  years  to  the  senate  is  quite  sufficient  with  the  rota- 
tion proposed." 

Hamilton  observed,  "  This  question  has  already  been 
considered  in  several  points  of  view.  We  are  now  form- 
ing a  republican  government.  Real  liberty  is  neither  found 
in  despotism,  nor  in  the  extremes  of  democracy,  but  in  mode- 
rate governments.  Those  who  mean  to  form  a  solid  re- 
publican government,  ought  to  proceed  to  the  confines  of 
another  government.!  As  long  as  offices  are  open  to  all 

*  Yates,  169. 

t  It  will  be  remarked  that  a  similar  opinion  was  expressed  by  Jefferson  a 
few  months  before.  Writing  from  Paris,  February  28, 1787,  to  La  Fayette, 
then  about  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  France,  he  observed,  "  I  wish 
you  success  in  your  meeting,  (the  assemble  des  notables.)  I  should  form 
better  hopes  of  it,  if  it  were  divided  into  two  houses  instead  of  seven ;  keep. 


HAMILTON.  517 

men,  and  no  constitutional  rank  is  established,  it  is  pure 
republicanism.  But  if  we  incline  too  much  to  democracy,  we 
shall  soon  shoot  into  a  monarchy.  The  difference  of  pro- 
perty is  already  great  among  us.  Commerce  and  industry 
will  still  increase  the  disparity.  Your  government  must 
meet  this  state  of  things,  or  combinations  will  in  process 
of  time  undermine  your  system.  What  was  the  tribuni- 
tial  power  of  Rome  ?  It  was  instituted  by  the  plebeians  as  a 
guard  against  the  patricians.  But  was  this  a  sufficient 
check  ?  No !  The  only  distinction  which  remained  at 
Rome  was,  at  last,  between  the  rich  and  poor.  The  gen- 
tleman from  Connecticut  forgets  that  the  democratic  body 
is  already  secure  in  a  representation.  As  to  Connecticut, 
what  were  the  little  objects  of  their  government  before  the 
revolution  ?  Colonial  concerns  merely.  They  ought  now 
to  act  on  a  more  extended  scale ;  and  dare  they  do  this  ? 
Dare  they  collect  the  taxes  and  requisitions  of  congress  ? 
Such  a  government  may  do  well  if  they  do  not  tax,  and 
this  is  precisely  their  situation." 

Wilson  remarked,  "  The  motion  is  now  for  nine  years, 
and  a  triennial  rotation.  Every  nation  attends  to  its  for- 
eign intercourse  to  support  its  commerce,  to  prevent  foreign 
contempt,  and  to  make  war  and  peace.  Our  senate  will 
be  possessed  of  these  powers,  and  therefore  ought  to  be 
dignified  and  permanent.  What  is  the  reason  that  Great 
Britain  does  not  enter  into  a  commercial  treaty  with  us  ? 
Because  congress  has  not  the  powers  to  enforce  its  observ- 
ance. But  give  them  those  powers,  and  give  them  the 
stability  proposed  by  the  motion,  and  they  will  have  more 

ing  the  good  model  of  your  neighbouring  country  before  your  eyes,  you  may 
get  on  step  Sy  step  towards  a  good  constitution.  Though  that  model  is  not 
perfect,  yet,  as  it  would  unite  more  suffrages  than  any  new  one  which  could 
be  proposed,  it  is  better  to  make  that  the  object.  If  every  advance  is  to  be  pur. 
chased  by  filling  the  royal  coffers  with  gold,  it  will  be  gold  well  employed." 
—2  Jeff.  Works,  p.  101. 


518  THE    LIFE    OP 

permanency  than  a  monarchical  government.  The  great 
objection  of  many  is,  that  this  duration  would  give  birth  to 
views  inconsistent  with  the  interests  of  the  union.  This 
can  have  no  weight  if  the  triennial  rotation  is  adopted, 
and  this  plan  may  possibly  tend  to  conciliate  the  minds  of 
the  members  of  the  convention  on  this  subject,  which  have 
varied  more  than  on  any  other  question."  Delaware,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Virginia,  were  in  favour  of  nine  years,  but 
it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be  six,  with  a  biennial  rota^ 
tion. 

The  discussion  of  the  powers  of  the  legislature  was  de- 
ferred in  order  to  consider  the  proportionate  suffrage  of 
the  states  in  its  choice.  Martin  urged  with  great  vehe- 
mence an  equal  representation  of  the  states  as  their  right, 
and  as  most  promotive  of  the  general  welfare  ;  and  after 
a  motion  of  Lansing,  that  the  representation  in  the  first 
branch  should  be  according  to  the  rule  of  the  confederation, 
Madison  supported  earnestly  a  proportionate  representa- 
tion of  the  states.  "  Some  gentlemen,"  he  said,*  "  are 
afraid  that  the  plan  is  not  sufficiently  national,  while  others 
apprehend  that  it  is  too  much  so.  If  this  point  of  re- 
presentation was  once  well  fixed,  we  would  come  nearer 
to  one  another  in  sentiment.  The  necessity  would  then 
be  discovered  of  circumscribing  more  effectually  the  state 
governments,  and  enlarging  the  bounds  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment. Some  contend  that  the  states  are  sovereign,  when 
in  fact  they  are  only  political  societies.  There  is  a  gra- 
dation of  power  in  all  societies,  from  the  lowest  corpora- 
tion to  the  highest  sovereign.  The  states  never  possessed 
the  essential  rights  of  sovereignty.  These  were  always 
vested  in  congress.  Their  voting  as  states  in  congress  is 
no  evidence  of  sovereignty.  The  state  of  Maryland  voted 
by  counties.  Did  this  make  the  counties  sovereign  ?  The 

«  Yates,  p.  184-5. 


HAMILTON.  519 

states  at  present  are  only  great  corporations,  having  the 
power  of  making  by-laws,  and  these  are  effectual  only  if 
they  are  not  contradictory  to  the  general  confederation. 
The  states  ought  to  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  at  least  as  much  so  as  they  formerly  were 
under  the  king  and  British  parliament.  The  arguments, 
I  observe,  have  taken  a  different  turn,  and  I  hope  may  tend 
to  convince  all  of  the  necessity  of  a  strong  energetic  gov- 
ernment ;  which  would  equally  tend  to  give  energy  to,  and 
protect  the  state  governments."  He  deprecated  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  states,  and  observed, "  If  the  power  is  not  imme- 
diately derived  from  the  people,  in  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers, we  make  a  paper  confederacy,  but  that  will  be  all !" 

"  I  would  have  no  objection,"  Judge  Read  observed,  "  if 
the  government  was  more  national,  but  the  proposed  plan 
is  so  great  a  mixture  of  both,  that  it  is  best  to  drop  it  alto- 
gether. A  state  government  is  incompatible  with  a  gen- 
eral government.  If  it  was  more  national,  I  would  be  for 
a  representation  proportionate  to  population.  The  plan 
of  the  gentleman  from  New- York  (Hamilton)  is  certainly 
the  best.  But  the  great  evil  is  the  unjust  appropriation 
of  the  public  lands.  If  there  was  but  one  national  govern- 
ment, we  would  be  all  equally  interested." 

Hamilton,  in  the  progress  of  this  discussion,  remarked — 
"  The  course  of  my  experience  in  human  affairs  might, 
perhaps,  restrain  me  from  saying  much  on  this  subject.  I 
shall,  however,  give  utterance  to  some  of  the  observations 
I  have  made  during  the  course  of  this  debate.  The  gen- 
tleman from  Maryland  has  been  at  great  pains  to  establish 
positions  which  are  not  denied.  Many  of  them,  as  drawn 
from  the  best  writers  on  government,  are  become  self- 
evident  principles.  But  I  doubt  the  propriety  of  his  appli- 
cation of  those  principles  in  the  present  discussion.  He 
deduces  from  them  the  necessity  that  states  entering  into 
a  confederacy  must  retain  the  equality  of  votes.  This  po- 


520  THE    LIFE    OF 

sition  cannot  be  correct.  Facts  contradict  it.  The  par- 
liament of  Great  Britain  asserted  a  supremacy  over  the 
whole  empire,  and  the  celebrated  Judge  Blackstone  labours 
for  the  legality  of  it,  although  many  parts  were  not  repre- 
sented. This  parliamentary  power  we  opposed  as  con- 
trary to  our  colonial  rights.  With  that  exception,  through- 
out that  whole  empire  it  is  submitted  to. 

"  May  not  the  smaller  and  greater  states  so  modify  their 
respective  rights  as  to  establish  the  general  interest  of  the 
whole  without  adhering  to  the  right  of  equality  ?  Strict 
representation  is  not  observed  in  any  of  the  state  govern- 
ments. The  senate  of  New- York  are  chosen  by  persons 
of  certain  qualifications  to  the  exclusion  of  others. 

"The  question  after  all  is — Is  it  our  interest,  in  modify- 
ing this  general  government,  to  sacrifice  individual  rights 
to  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  an  artificial  being,  called 
states  ?  There  can  be  no  truer  principle  than  this — That 
every  individual  of  the  community  at  large  has  an  equal  right 
to  the  protection  of  government.  If,  therefore,  three  states 
contain  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  America,  ought  they 
to  be  governed  by  a  minority  ?  Would  the  inhabitants  of 
the  great  states  ever  submit  to  this  ?  If  the  smaller  states 
maintain  this  principle  through  a  love  of  power,  will  not 
the  larger,  from  the  same  motives,  be  equally  tenacious  to 
preserve  their  power  ?  They  are  to  surrender  their  rights 
— for  what  ?  For  the  preservation  of  an  artificial  being. 
We  propose  a  free  government.  Can  it  be  so,  if  partial 
distinctions  are  maintained  ? 

"  I  agree  with  the  gentleman  from  Delaware,  that  if  the 
state  governments  are  to  act  in  the  general  government,  it 
affords  the  strongest  reason  for  exclusion.  In  the  state 
of  New- York  five  counties  form  a  majority  of  representa- 
tives, and  yet  the  government  is  in  no  danger,  because  the 
laws  have  a  general  operation.  The  small  states  exagger- 
ate their  danger,  and  on  this  ground  contend  for  an  undue 


HAMILTON.  521 

proportion  of  power.  But  their  danger  is  increased  if  the 
larger  states  will  not  submit  to  it.  Where  will  they  form 
new  alliances  for  their  support  ?  Will  they  do  this  with 
foreign  powers  ?  Foreigners  are  jealous  of  our  increasing 
greatness,  and  would  rejoice  in  our  distractions.  Those 
who  have  had  opportunities  of  conversing  with  foreigners 
respecting  sovereigns  in  Europe,  have  discovered  in  them 
an  anxiety  for  the  preservation  of  our  democratic  gov- 
ernments, probably  for  no  other  reason  but  to  keep  us 
weak.  Unless  your  government  is  respectable,  foreigners 
will  invade  your  rights — and  to  maintain  tranquillity,  it 
must  be  respectable.  Even  to  observe  neutrality  you  must 
have  a  strong  government. 

"  I  confess  our  present  situation  is  critical.  We  have  just 
finished  a  war  which  has  established  our  independence,  and 
loaded  us  with  a  heavy  debt.  We  have  still  every  motive 
to  unite  for  our  common  defence.  Our  people  are  dis- 
posed to  have  a  good  government,  but  this  disposition  may 
not  always  prevail.  It  is  difficult  to  amend  confederations : 
it  has  been  attempted  in  vain,  and  it  is  perhaps  a  miracle 
that  we  are  now  met.  We  must  therefore  improve  the 
opportunity,  and  render  the  present  system  as  perfect  as 
possible.  Their  good  sense,  and,  above  all,  the  necessity 
of  their  affairs,  will  induce  the  people  to  adopt  it." 

Lansing's  motion  was  negatived  by  six  to  four  states, 
Maryland  being  divided,  and  the  original  resolution  passed. 

Imperfect  as  these  reports  are,  they  are  sufficient  to 
show  the  spirit  in  which  Hamilton  met  the  objections  to 
an  energetic  system,  labouring  to  vindicate  the  cause  of 
an  efficient  moderate  government. 

Some  private  business  calling  him  at  this  time  to  New- 
York,  he  was  absent  from  the  convention  a  few  days. 

From  the  influence  of  Washington  he  hoped  much  ;  and 
soon  after  his  departure  he  communicated  to  him  his  im- 
pression of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  peo- 

66 


522  THE    LIFE    OP 

pie,  and  his  convictions  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued.  His 
letter  gives  the  important  and  interesting  fact,  that,  previ- 
ous to  this  moment,  no  disclosure  of  his  sentiments  had 
been  sought  by  Hamilton  from  Washington.  Such  was 
the  delicacy  observed  towards  a  personage  to  whom  the 
country  looked  as  its  probable  head,  if  a  general  govern- 
ment should  be  established. 

HAMILTON  TO  WASHINGTON. 
DEAR    SIR, 

In  my  passage  through  the  Jerseys,  and  since  my  arrival 
here,  I  have  taken  particular  pains  to  discover  the  public 
sentiment,  and  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  this  is 
the  critical  opportunity  for  establishing  the  prosperity  of 
this  country  on  a  solid  foundation.  I  have  conversed  with 
men  of  information,  not  only  of  this  city,  but  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  state ;  and  they  agree  that  there  has  been 
an  astonishing  revolution  for  the  better  in  the  minds  of 
the  people. 

The  prevailing  apprehension  among  thinking  men  is,  that 
the  convention,  from  the  fear  of  shocking  the  popular  opin- 
ion, will  not  go  far  enough.  They  seem  to  be  convinced, 
that  a  strong,  well-mounted  government  will  better  suit  the 
popular  palate,  than  one  of  a  different  complexion.  Men 
in  office  are,  indeed,  taking  all  possible  pains  to  give  an  un- 
favourable impression  of  the  convention ;  but  the  current 
seems  to  be  moving  strongly  the  other  way. 

A  plain  but  sensible  man,  in  a  conversation  I  had  with 
him  yesterday,  expressed  himself  nearly  in  this  manner : — 
The  people  begin  to  be  convinced  that  their  "  excellent 
form  of  government,"  as  they  have  been  used  to  call  it, 
will  not  answer  their  purpose,  and  that  they  must  substitute 
something  not  very  remote  from  that  which  they  have 
lately  quitted. 


HAMILTON.  523 

These  appearances,  though  they  will  not  warrant  a  con- 
clusion that  the  people  are  yet  ripe  for  such  a  plan  as  I  advo- 
cate, yet  serve  to  prove  that  there  is  no  reason  to  despair 
of  their  adopting  one  equally  energetic,  if  the  convention 
should  think  proper  to  propose  it.  They  serve  to  prove 
that  we  ought  not  to  allow  too  much  weight  to  objections, 
drawn  from  the  supposed  repugnancy  of  the  people  to  an 
efficient  constitution.  I  confess  I  am  more  and  more  in- 
clined to  believe  that  former  habits  of  thinking  are  regain- 
ing their  influence  with  more  rapidity  than  is  generally 
imagined. 

Not  having  compared  ideas  with  you,  sir,  I  cannot  judge 
how  far  our  sentiments  agree;  but,  as  I  persuade  myself, 
the  genuineness  of  my  representations  will  receive  credit 
with  you.  My  anxiety  for  the  event  of  the  deliberations 
of  the  convention,  induces  me  to  make  this  communication 
of  what  appears  to  be  the  tendency  of  the  public  mind. 

I  own  to  you,  sir,  that  I  am  seriously  and  deeply  dis- 
tressed at  the  aspect  of  the  counsels  which  prevailed  when 
I  left  Philadelphia.  I  fear  that  we  shall  let  slip  the  golden 
opportunity  of  rescuing  the  American  empire  from  dis- 
union, anarchy,  and  misery. 

No  motley  or  feeble  measure  can  answer  the  end,  or  will 
finally  receive  the  public  support.  Decision  is  true  wis- 
dom, and  will  be  not  less  reputable  to  the  convention,  than 
salutary  to  the  community. 

I  shall  of  necessity  remain  here  ten  or  twelve  days.  If 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  my  attendance  at  Philadel- 
phia will  not  be  mere  waste  of  time,  I  shall,  after  that 
period,  rejoin  the  convention, 

New-York,  July  3d,  1787. 

The  apprehensions  entertained  by  Hamilton  were  con- 
firmed by  the  temper  evinced  during  the  renewed  discus- 
sion of  a  proposition  of  Ellsworth  that  each  state  should 


524  THE    LIFE    OF 

have  an  equal  vote  in  the  second  branch  of  the  legislature. 
At  its  termination  the  increased  strength  of  the  states  right 
party  was  shown  by  an  equal  division  of  the  votes — five 
states  being  in  favour  of  the  proposition  and  five  in  the  ne- 
gative— Maryland  divided. 

The  pertinacity  with  which  the  claims  to  an  equal  par- 
ticipation in  the  second  branch  were  pressed,  following  the 
warmth  previously  exhibited  on  the  question  of  electing 
the  first  branch  by  the  people,  threatened  an  utter  prostra- 
tion of  all  hope  of  concurring  in  a  plan  of  government. 

Under  these  circumstances,  General  Cotesworth  Pinck- 
ney  proposed  to  appoint  a  committee  to  adjust  the  embar- 
rassing controversy. 

Martin  objected  to  the  measure  as  an  attempt  to  com- 
promise, and,  feeling  the  strength  of  his  party,  declared, 
"  You  must  give  each  state  an  equal  suffrage,  or  our  business 
is  at  an  end."  Sherman  replied,  that  "  we  had  reached  a 
point  from  which  we  cannot  move  in  either  direction,"  and 
urged  the  committee. 

Gouverneur  Morris  followed,  insisting  on  the  necessity  of 
an  aristocracy  "  of  men  of  great  and  established  property" 
in  the  second  branch,  to  be  checked  by  the  democratic 
branch,  and  thus  give  stability  to  the  government.  "  A 
senate  for  seven  years,  excluded  from  office,  would  be,"  he 
observed,  '•  one  of  the  baubles  of  the  general  government. 
A  government  by  compact  is  no  government.  While  I 
avow  myself,"  he  said,  "  the  advocate  of  a  strong  govern- 
ment, I  admit  that  the  influence  of  the  rich  must  be  guard- 
ed :  and  a  pure  democracy  is  equally  oppressive  to  the 
lower  orders  of  the  community."  He  threw  out  these  re- 
marks for  the  consideration  of  the  committee  to  be  ap- 
pointed. Wilson  did  not  approve  of  this  expedient.  If 
adopted,  he  was  for  a  smaller  committee.  Madison  ob- 
jected to  it  as  only  a  source  of  delay.  If  appointed  "  from 
each  state,  we  shall  have  in  it  the  whole  force  of  state  pre- 


HAMILTON.  525 

judices."  "  The  great  difficulty  is  to  conquer  former  opin- 
ions. The  motion  can  as  well  be  decided  here  as  in  com- 
mittee." Gerry  urged  accommodation  as  absolutely  neces- 
sary, hoping  that  the  defects  might  be  amended  by  a  future 
convention.  The  motion  was  carried  by  nine  states,  Jer- 
sey and  Delaware  dissenting,  and  a  committee  of  a  mem- 
ber from  each  state  was  chosen  by  ballot,  composed  chiefly 
of  the  advocates  of  the  Jersey  plan. 

On  the  fifth  of  July  a  compromise  was  reported.  It 
proposed  to  give  to  each  state  one  representative  for  every 
forty  thousand  inhabitants,  computing  three-fifths  of  the 
slaves  as  one  white,  and  to  a  state  containing  a  less  num- 
ber, one  representative,  to  compose  the  first  branch ;  vest- 
ing in  that  branch  the  exclusive  origin  and  control  of 
money  bills ; — that  in  the  second  branch,  each  state  should 
have  one  vote. 

• 

The  advocates  of  a  strong  government  opposed  the  pro- 
position. Wilson  insisted  upon  a  division  of  the  question. 
Madison  declared  that  the  originating  money  bills  was  no 
concession  on  the  part  of  the  smaller  states,  as  seven  states 
combining  in  the  second  branch,  could  control  the  first ;  it 
being  small  in  number  and  well  connected,  will  ever  pre- 
vail. No  provision  is  made  as  to  the  regulation  of  trade, 
imposts,  treaties.  We  are  driven  to  an  unhappy  dilemma. 
Two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  union  are  to  please 
the  remaining  third  by  sacrificing  their  essential  rights. 

In  behalf  of  this  compromise  it  was  asserted,  that  the 
power  over  money  bills  was  an  equivalent  for  the  equal 
representation  in  the  senate.  That  it  properly  belonged  to 
the  democratic  branch.  The  senate  being  farther  removed 
from  the  people,  would  be  less  attentive  to  economy.  It 
was  analogous  to  the  parliamentary  usage  of  England.* 

The  members  most  strenuous  for  retaining  power  in  the 
• 

*  Gerry's  State  of  Facts. 


526  THE    LIFE    OF 

states  wished  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  the  first 
proposition  in  order  to  enter  upon  the  second,  which  was 
not  acceded  to  ;  and  the  question,  whether  numbers  or  rela- 
tive contribution  should  determine  the  proportion  of  suf- 
frage, was  referred  to  a  special  committee.  It  was  then 
proposed  to  consider  the  constitution  of  the  second  branch. 
This  was  postponed  by  the  vote  of  six  states — Massachu- 
setts and  New- York  divided. 

Having  given  a  vote  in  favour  of  conferring  on  the  first 
branch  the  originating  money  bills,  and  thus  fulfilling  that 
part  of  the  proposed  compromise,  it  was  moved  that  in  the 
second  branch  the  states  should  have  an  equal  vote,  which 
was  approved.  On  the  ninth  of  July  the  special  commit- 
tee reported  an  apportionment  of  the  members  of  the  first 
branch  among  the  states,  and  that  the  legislature  be  au- 
thorized to  augment  the  number  from  tjme  to  time,  and  in 
case  a  state  be  divided,  or  two  or  more  united,  or  a  new 
state  be  created  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  it 
be  empowered  to  regulate  the  number  of  representatives 
upon  the  principles  of  their  wrealth  and  number  of  inhabit- 
ants ;  the  provisional  clause  was  approved,  the  equal  vote 
in  the  second  branch  temporarily  sanctioned,  and  the  ratio 
was  established  on  a  conjectural  basis.  An  objection  being 
taken  to  the  small  number  of  representatives,  this  sub- 
ject was  referred  to  the  grand  committee  from  each  state.* 
The  following  day  King  reported  a  new  scale  of  repre- 
sentation, increased  from  fifty-six  to  sixty-five  members. 

At  this  important  moment,  when  a  large  concession  had 
been  made  to  the  advocates  of  an  equal  power  in  the 
states,  and  a  basis  had  been  formed  upon  which  a  compound 

*  Madison  states  a  proposition,  proceeding  from  himself,  as  a  proper  ground 
of  compromise  ;  that  in  the  first  branch  the  states  should  be  represented  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  free  inhabitants,  and  in  the  second,  which  had  for 
one  of  its  primary  objects  the  guardianship  of  property,  according  to  the  whole 
number,  including  slaves — in  effect,  a  southern  predominance. 


HAMILTON.  527 

government,  in  part  national,  and  in  part  federal,  was  to 
be  established,  Yates  and  Lansing  retired  finally  from 
the  convention.*  On  the  last  day  on  which  they  appeared, 
Washington  replied  to  Hamilton. 

WASHINGTON  TO  HAMILTON. 

Philadelphia,  10th  July,  1787. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  thank  you  for  your  communication  of  the  third.  When 
I  refer  you  to  the  state  of  the  counsels  which  prevailed  at 
the  period  you  left  this  city,  and  add  that  they  are  now, 
if  possible,  in  a  worse  train  than  ever,  you  will  find  but 
little  ground  on  which  the  hope  of  a  good  establishment 
can  be  formed.  In  a  word,  I  almost  despair  of  seeing  a 
favourable  issue  to  the  proceedings  of  the  convention,  and 
do  therefore  repent  "having  had  any  agency  in  the  busi- 
ness. 

The  men  who  oppose  a  strong  and  energetic  govern- 
ment,  are,  in  my  opinion,  narrow-minded  politicians,  or 
are  under  the  influence  of  local  views. 

The  apprehension  expressed  by  them,  that  the  people 
will  not  accede  to  the  form  proposed,  is  the  ostensible,  not 
the  real  cause  of  opposition ;  but  admitting  that  the  pre- 
sent sentiment  is  as  they  prognosticate,  the  question  ought 
nevertheless  to  be,  is  it  or  is  it  not  the  best  form  ?  If  the  for- 
mer, recommend  it,  and  it  will  assuredly  obtain  maugre 
opposition. 

/  am  sorry  you  went  away — /  wish  you  were  back.  The 
crisis  is  equally  important  and  alarming,  and  no  opposition, 
under  such  circumstances,  should  discourage  exertions,  till 
the  structure  is  fixed.  I  will  not,  at  this  time,  trouble  you 
with  more  than  my  best  wishes  and  sincere  regards. 

«  July  10. 


528  THE    LIFE    OF 

A  stronger  contrast  cannot  be  drawn,  than  is  seen  in 
the  tone  of  this  correspondence,  and  in  the  conduct  of  the 
governing  party  in  New- York. 

On  the  one  side,  the  utmost  solicitude  to  seize  this  "  crit- 
ical opportunity  for  establishing  the  prosperity  of  this 
country  on  a  solid  foundation ;"  on  the  other,  a  cold  and 
selfish  desertion  of  it  at  the  moment  of  its  utmost  peril. 

It  was  not  possible  to  have  taken  a  course  more  calcula- 
ted to  arrest  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  ;  and  when 
the  juncture  at  which  the  delegates  from  New- York  re- 
tired is  considered,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  that  such 
was  the  object. 

That  they  acted  in  accordance  with  Clinton,  was  proved 
by  his  deportment  at  this  time.  Unreserved  declarations 
were  made  by  him,  that  no  good  was  to  be  expected  from 
the  appointment  or  deliberations  of  this  body.  That  the 
most  probable  result  was,  that  the  coifntry  would  be  thrown 
into  confusion  by  the  measure.  That  it  was  by  no  means 
a  necessary  one,  as  the  confederation  had  not  undergone 
a  sufficient  trial,  and  probably,  on  a  more  full  experiment, 
would  be  found  to  answer  all  the  purposes  of  the  union. 

"  Clinton,'"  Hamilton  remarked,  "  was  not  a  man  govern- 
ed in  ordinary  cases  by  sudden  impulse ;  though  of  an 
irritable  temper,  when  not  under  the  immediate  influence 
of  irritation,  he  was  circumspect  and  guarded,  and  seldom 
acted  or  spoke  without  premeditation  or  design." 

Such  declarations  from  such  a  source,  could  only  have 
been  intended  to  excite  prejudices  against  whatever  plan 
should  be  proposed  by  the  convention.  Feeling  that  Clin- 
ton's conduct  might,  and  fearing  that  it  would,  induce  the 
mischief  he  so  confidently  and  openly  predicted,  Hamilton 
resolved  to  exhibit  it  before  the  public  in  all  its  deformity. 
He  immediately  published  a  pointed  animadversion,  charg- 
ing these  declarations  upon  him,  and  avowing  a  readiness 
to  substantiate  them. 


HAMILTON.  529 

I 

Having  thus  interposed  his  personal  influence  to  counter- 
act this  insidious  policy  by  an  appeal  to  the  people,  he 
hastened  to  Philadelphia,  and  there,  without  a  vote,  stand- 
ing alone,  and  unsupported  by  his  state,  he  renewed  his 
exertions  to  compose  the  heats  and  heal  the  differences 
which  had  arisen,  and,  as  far  as  was  in  his  power,  to  aid  in 
directing  the  course  of  the  convention. 

The  discussion  of  the  compromise  was  protracted  until 
late  in  July,  when  the  first  of  the  propositions  having  been 
modified,  both  were  adopted,  though  by  a  vote  indicating 
a  wide  difference  of  opinion.  Five  states  were  in  favour 
of  them,  but  they  were  those  of  secondary  importance. 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  voted 
against  them  ;  and  the  important  commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts was  divided.  During  this  debate  the  number 
of  representatives  was  apportioned  to  each  state,  in  the  first 
congress.  It  was  declared  that  the  representation  ought 
to  be  proportioned  to  direct  taxation,  and  to  ascertain  the 
necessary  alterations  in  it,  that  a  periodical  census  should 
be  taken.  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  seeking  to  increase 
their  relative  weight,  would  have  embraced  in  this  census 
all  their  slaves ;  but  the  three-fifths  compromise,  although 
at  first  rejected,*  was  finally  adopted.  An  effort  was  also 
made  to  establish  the  principle,  that  the  representation  of 
the  new  states  to  be  admitted  into  the  union,  should  never 
exceed  that  of  the  original  thirteen ;  but  this  unequal  pro- 
position was  defeated.f 

In  determining  the  period  when  a  census  should  be  taken, 
a  similar  contest  for  power  was  also  seen.  The  vote  was 
at  first  unanimous  for  a  re-apportionment  at  the  expiration 
of  fifteen  years.  Then  two  years  were  proposed ;  then  six  ; 
then  twenty  ;  a  decennial  census  was  ultimately  established. 


*  Connecticut,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  voting  for  it. 
t  Affirmative,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  and  Maryland. 

67 


530  THE    LIFE    OF 

The  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the  first  branch  be- 
ing settled,  those  of  the  second  were  considered.  A  pro- 
posal was  made  to  fix  the  number  of  senators  at  thirty-six, 
and  to  apportion  them  among  the  states.  Massachusetts 
and  Virginia  urged  this  change  warmly,  but  it  was  resolv- 
ed that  each  state  should  have  an  equal  vote.  The  com- 
promise on  this  point  being  effected,  a  new  contest  for 
power  was  seen  in  the  several  modifications  suggested  in 
the  structure  of  the  other  departments  of  the  government, 
and  in  the  extent  and  distribution  of  its  powers. 

The  legislative  powers  of  the  government  were  now 
considered,  and  a  general  declaratory  clause  was  passed, 
having  in  view  subsequent  alterations.  It  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  the  proposed  negative  of  Madison  on  the 
state  laws,  would  be  retained ;  it  was  only  supported  by 
the  votes  of  three  states,  and  in  lieu  of  it,  the  legislative 
acts  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made  under  its  au- 
thority, were  declared  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

The  institution  of  the  executive  department  was  the 
next  subject  of  deliberation.  This  marked  instance  was 
now  seen  of  the  influences  which  were  operating :  Randolph 
had  insisted  earnestly  on  a  plural  executive ;  he  suggest- 
ed, as  giving  a  reasonable  security  to  the  smaller  states,  the 
appointment  of  one  executive,  to  be  elected  by  an  equality  of 
state  votes.  The  delegates  from  Virginia,  who  had  hesitated, 
yielding,  it  was  unanimously  declared  that  the  national  exec- 
utive was  to  consist  of  one  person.  The  effort  was  renewed 
to  render  him  eligible  by  the  electors  of  the  people.  It  was 
then  proposed  that  he  should  be  chosen  by  electors  ap- 
pointed by  the  legislatures  of  the  states ;  but  the  choice  was 
given  to  the  national  legislature,  in  conformity  with  the 
original  proposition  of  Virginia.  He  was  declared  to  be 
re-eligible.  The  trusts  of  carrying  into  execution  the  na- 
tional laws,  and  of  appointing  the  national  officers,  subject 
to  the  negative  of  two-thirds  of  the  legislature,  were  con- 


HAMILTON.  531 

fided  to  him ;  and  a  motion  was  made  to  substitute  for  a 
term  of  seven  years,  the  provision  that  he  should  hold  his 
office  during  good  behaviour.  This  important  substitute 
was  supported  by  the  votes  of  four  states,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Virginia ;  but  the  term  of 
seven  years  was  retained. 

A  judiciary  during  good  behaviour  was  next  established ; 
and,  after  an  effort  to  confide  the  appointment  of  the 
judges  to  the  executive  department  solely,  and  then,  as 
Hamilton  had  proposed  in  his  plan,  to  require  the  consent 
of  the  senate,  the  appointment  was  given  to  the  senate  ; 
another  concession  to  state  influence.  Its  jurisdiction  was 
declared  to  extend  to  cases  arising  under  laws  passed  by 
the  general  legislature,  and  to  such  other  questions  as  in- 
volve the  national  peace  and  harmony. 

The  discussion  was  continued  until  the  twenty-sixth  of 
July,  much  time  being  devoted  to  the  institution  of  the 
executive,  and  to  the  consideration  of  a  proposal  to  require 
certain  qualifications  of  landed  property  and  citizenship 
in  the  members  of  each  department  of  the  government. 

The  modified  resolutions  were  then  referred  to  a  commit- 
tee of  detail  to  prepare  and  report  the  outline  of  a  constitu- 
tion on  the  sixth  of  August,  to  which  time  the  convention 
adjourned.  A  draft  of  a  constitution  was  on  that  day 
reported,  founded  upon  the  principles  which  had  been  pre- 
viously adopted,  with  many  supplementary  provisions. 

The  compromise,  thus  far,  had  only  extended  to  the 
structure  of  the  government ;  its  influence  was  now  chiefly 
seen  in  the  limitations  of  its  powers — limitations  which 
may  be,  with  much  probability,  ascribed  to  Randolph  and 
Ellsworth,  who,  with  Rutledge,  Gorham,  and  Wilson,  com- 
posed the  committee  of  detail. 

This  supposition  is  founded  on  a  fact,  which,  it  is  be- 
lieved, has  not  heretofore  attracted  attention. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  August,  seventeen  hundred 


532  THE    LIFE    OF 

and  eighty-one,  Randolph,  Ellsworth,  and  Varnum,  who 
had  been  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  an  exposition 
of  the  confederation,  made  a  report.  They  stated  that  they 
ought  to  be  discharged,  because  "  the  omission  to  enume- 
rate any  of  the  powers  of  congress  would  become  an  ar- 
gument against  their  existence,  and  that  it  will  be  early 
enough  to  insist  on  them  when  they  shall  be  exercised 
and  disputed." 

Having  specified  in  what  particulars  "  the  confedera- 
tion requires  execution,"  they  proceeded  to  enumerate  the 
cases  in  which  they  deemed  the  extension  of  the  powers 
of  congress  necessary. 

This  exposition  of  the  existing  powers  of  the  confede- 
ration, and  this  enumeration  of  the  proposed  supplemental 
powers,  may  be  regarded  as  the  source  from  which  the  detail 
of  the  legislative  powers  enumerated  in  this  plan  of  a  con- 
stitution is  derived.  One  marked  difference  is  observed. 

By  the  report,  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  congress 
was  required  in  the  exercise  of  the  great  powers  of  war, 
treaty,  and  revenue,  while  in  this  draft  of  the  constitution 
such  concurrence  is  only  made  necessary  to  the  passage 
of  a  navigation  act — a  vicious  check  upon  legislation,  cer- 
tain to  result  in  evasive  refinements.  The  convention 
having  refused  to  go  into  committee,  this  plan  of  a  consti- 
tution was  discussed  in  the  house.  In  its  general  outline 
may  be  seen  the  extent  to  which  Hamilton's  system  was 
followed,  and  in  the  similarity  of  some  of  the  modifications 
which  were  proposed,  the  part  he  took  as  the  discussion 
progressed. 

He  continued  in  the  convention  until  after  the  thirteenth 
of  August,  when  it  is  seen  by  the  journal,  that  instead  of 
the  provision  requiring  as  a  qualification  for  a  seat  in  the 
house  of  representatives  that  the  candidate  should  have  been 
a  citizen  seven  years,  he  urged  that  citizenship  and  inhabi- 
tancy were  sufficient  pre-requisites,  leaving  to  the  discre- 


HAMILTON.  533 

tion  of  the  legislature  to  prescribe  such  rules  of  naturali- 
zation as  should  be  found  expedient.  He  was  soon  after 
compelled  again  to  repair  to  New-York. 

The  following  letters  evince  his  determination  to  give  his 
sanction  to  its  proceedings,  under  a  conviction  that  what- 
ever plan  should  be  adopted,  would  be  an  improvement 
upon  the  articles  of  the  confederation,  and  that  a  dissolu- 
tion of  that  body  without  the  recommendation  of  a  sub- 
stitute, would  produce  a  dissolution  of  the  union. 

HAMILTON  TO  RUFUS  KING. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Since  my  arrival  here,  I  have  written  to  my  colleagues, 
informing  them  if  either  of  them  would  come  down,  I 
would  accompany  him  to  Philadelphia :  so  much  for  the 
sake  of  propriety  and  public  opinion. 

In  the  mean  time,  if  any  material  alteration  should  hap- 
pen to  be  made  in  the  plan  now  before  the  convention,  I 
will  be  obliged  to  you  for  a  communication  of  it.  I  will 
also  be  obliged  to  you  to  let  me  know  when  your  conclu- 
sion is  at  hand,  for  I  would  choose  to  be  present  at  that 
time. 

New-York,  August  20,  1787. 

THE  SAME  TO  THE  SAME. 
DEAR  SIR, 

I  wrote  you  some  days  since,  to  request  you  to  inform 
me  when  there  was  a  prospect  of  your  finishing,  as  I  in- 
tended to  be  with  you,  for  certain  reasons,  before  the 
conclusion. 

It  is  whispered  here,  that  some  late  changes  in  your 
scheme  have  taken  place,  which  give  it  a  higher  tone.  Is 
this  the  case  ?  I  leave  town  to-day  to  attend  a  circuit  in 


534  THE    LIFE    OP 

a  neighbouring  county,  from  which  I  shall  return  the  last 
of  the  week,  and  shall  be  glad  to  find  a  line  from  you,  ex- 
planatory of  the  period  of  the  probable  termination  of 
your  business. 
New-York,  August  28,  1787. 

His  anxiety  for  the  establishment  of  an  energetic  nation- 
al government  was  increased  by  a  circumstance  which 
indicates  the  unsettled  state  of  the  public  feeling,  the  dis- 
trusts of  the  community,  and  the  mad  projects  which  the 
deranged  affairs  of  the  country  had  engendered. 

During  his  sojourn  at  New- York,  a  report  was  mention- 
ed in  a  gazette*  of  that  city,  that  a  project  was  in  embryo 
for  the  establishment  of  a  monarchy,  at  the  head  of  which 
it  was  contemplated  to  place  the  bishop  of  Osnaburgh. 

This  report  was  traced  to  a  political  letter,  which  had 
been  circulated  in  Connecticut,  suggesting  this  plot. 

The  extraordinary  nature  of  this  suggestion,  whether  in- 
tended to  excite  prejudices  against  the  convention,  or  to 
alarm  the  anti-federalists  to  an  adoption  of  such  a  consti- 
tution as  it  should  propose,  or  as  an  experiment  upon  pub- 
lic opinion,  engaged  the  attention  of  Hamilton.  He  im- 
mediately addressed  a  letter  to  Colonel  Wadsworth,  asking 
a  solution  of  this  enigma,  in  which  he  observes,  "The  his- 
tory of  its  appearance  among  us,  is,  that  it  was  sent  by 
one  Whetmore,  of  Strafford,  formerly  in  the  paymaster- 
general's  office,  to  a  person  in  this  city. 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  clearly  to  understand  its  object,  and  have 
some  suspicion  that  it  has  been  fabricated  to  excite  jeal- 
ousies against  the  convention,  with  a  view  to  an  opposition 
to  their  recommendations ;  at  all  events,  I  wish  you,  if 
possible,  to  trace  its  source,  and  send  it  to  you  for  that 
purpose. 

•  Daily  Advertiser,  August  18,  1787. 


HAMILTON.  535 

"Whetmore  must  of  course  say  where  he  got  it,  and  by 
pursuing  the  information,  we  may  at  last  come  at  the  au- 
thor. Let  me  know  the  political  connections  of  this  man, 
and  the  complexion  of  the  people  most  active  in  the  circu- 
lation of  the  letter."  It  appears  from  the  reply  of  Colonel 
Wadsworth,  that  he  had  referred  the  inquiry  to  Colonel 
Humphries,  whose  letter  to  Hamilton  of  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember, states  that  this  letter  had  been  printed  in  a  Fair- 
field  paper  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  past.  "  Whetmore 
informs  me  that  when  he  first  saw  it,  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  one  Jared  Mansfield,  who,  I  believe,  has  formerly  been 
reputed  a  loyalist.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  have  been  received 
and  circulated  with  avidity  by  that  class  of  people,  wheth- 
er fabricated  by  them  or  not.  I  think  there  is  little  doubt 
it  was  manufactured  in  this  state.  Some  think  the  real 
design  was  to  excite  the  apprehensions  of  the  anti-federal- 
ists, with  the  idea  that  the  most  disastrous  consequences 
are  to  be  expected,  unless  we  shall  accept  the  proceedings 
of  the  convention ;  but  others,  with  more  reason,  that  it 
was  intended  to  feel  the  public  pulse,  and  to  discover 
whether  the  public  mind  would  be  startled  with  proposi- 
tions of  royalty.  The  quondam  tories  have  undoubtedly 
conceived  hopes  of  a  future  union  with  Great  Britain,  from 
the  inefficacy  of  our  government,  and  the  tumults  which 
prevailed  in  Massachusetts  during  the  last  winter. 

"  It  seems,  by  a  conversation  I  have  had  here,  that  the 
ultimate  practicability  of  introducing  the  bishop  of  Osna- 
burgh,  is  not  a  novel  idea  among  those  who  were  formerly 
termed  loyalists.  Ever  since  the  peace,  it  has  been  occa- 
sionally talked  of  and  wished  for.  Yesterday,  where  I 
dined,  half  jest,  half  earnest,  he  was  given  as  the  first 
toast. 

"  I  leave  you  now,  my  dear  friend,  to  reflect  how  ripe 
we  are  for  the  most  mad  and  ruinous  project  that  can  be 
suggested,  especially  when,  in  addition  to  this  view,  we 


536  THE    LIFE    OP 

take  into  consideration  how  thoroughly  the  patriotic  part 
of  the  community,  the  friends  of  an  efficient  government, 
are  discouraged  with  the  present  system,  and  irritated  at 
the  popular  demagogues,  who  are  determined  to  keep 
themselves  in  office  at  the  risk  of  every  thing. 

"  I  am  happy  to  see  you  have  had  the  boldness  to  attack, 
in  a  public  paper,  the  anti-federal  dogmas  of  a  great  per- 
sonage of  your  state.  Go  on,  and  prosper.  Were  the  men 
of  talents  and  honesty  throughout  the  continent  properly 
combined  into  one  phalanx,  I  am  confident  they  would  be 
competent  to  hew  their  way  through  all  opposition,  and 
establish  a  government  calculated  to  promote  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  and  make  the  revolution  a  blessing  in- 
stead of  a  curse."  Here  this  matter  terminated.  It  ap- 
pears from  a  subsequent  memorandum  of  Hamilton's,  that 
though  there  was  little  to  fear  from  the  project,  that  he 
did  not  consider  it  entirely  destitute  of  reality. 

His  allusion,  in  his  letter  to  King,  to  "  whispered 
changes"  in  the  scheme  which  gave  it  a  higher  tone,  re- 
ferred to  several  additional  powers  proposed  to  be  vested 
in  the  legislature,  which  were  referred  ;  to  a  modification 
in  the  mode  of  electing,  and  in  the  duration  and  powers 
of  the  executive  ;  to  an  enlargement  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  judicial  department ;  and  to  a  full  declaration  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States, — in  all  of  which  may  be  seen  an  adoption  of,  or  ap- 
proximation to,  the  principles  in  his  plan. 

The  tone  of  the  convention  was  evidently  undergoing  a 
change,  and  the  chief  collision  at  this  period  grew  out  of 
an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  non-slaveholding  states  to  re- 
strain the  extension  of  that  evil,  and  on  the  part  of  the 
planting  states  to  exclude  the  power  of  levying  duties  on 
exports,  and,  by  requiring  the  assent  of  two-thirds  of  the 
legislature  to  the  enactment  of  a  navigation  act,  or  to  acts 


HAMILTON.  537 

regulating  commerce,*  to  provide  against  a  danger  long  the 
source  of  great  but  groundless  apprehension  in  that  part 
of  the  union. 

In  the  beginning  of  September,  Hamilton  resumed  his 
seat  in  the  convention.  No  means  exist  of  showing  mi- 
nutely the  several  propositions  of  which  he  was  the  author. 

The  great  modifications  the  system  underwent  subse- 
quent to  this  period,  in  conformity  with  his  previously 
avowed  opinions,  and  the  close  analogy  between  parts  of 
the  existing  constitution  and  the  plan  of  government  he 
had  framed,  give  the  evidence  of  his  efficient  participation 
in  the  closing  labours  of  that  body.  That  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  last  committee  appointed,  with  instructions 
to  revise  the  style  and  arrange  the  articles  agreed  to  by 
the  house,  refutes  the  impression  sought  to  be  given,  that  he 
remained,  at  so  interesting  a  crisis  of  this  country,  an  almost 
inactive  spectator  of  the  proceedings  of  a  great  council, 
to  the  formation  of  which  he  had  devoted  all  his  energies. 

A  statement  of  a  member  of  that  committee  of  revisal, 
of  distinguished  talent  and  character,  is  to  the  point  on 
this  question.  "If,"  Doctor  Johnson  remarked,  "the  con- 
stitution did  not  succeed  on  trial,  Hamilton  was  less  re- 
sponsible for  that  result  than  any  .other  member,  for  he 
fully  and  frankly  pointed  out  to  the  convention  what  he 
apprehended  were  the  infirmities  to  which  it  was  liable. 
And  if  it  answered  the  fond  expectations  of  the  public, 
the  community  would  be  more  indebted  to  Hamilton  than 
to  any  other  member ;  for,  after  its  essential  outlines  were 
agreed  to,  he  laboured  most  indefatigably  to  heal  those  in- 
firmities, and  to  guard  against  the  evils  to  which  they  might 
expose  it." 

*  In  a  division  on  this  question  of  commercial  regulation,  Aug.  29,  tho 
votes  were  for  the  restriction,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Geor- 
gia :  against  it,  the  other  seven  states,  including  South  Carolina. 

68 


538  THE    LIFE    OP 

On  the  fourth  of  September,  the  grand  committee  of 
each  state  made  an  important  report. 

One  branch  of  it  gave  full  fiscal  power  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  legislature  were  invested  with  a  "  power  to 
lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay 
the  debts,  and  to  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  gen- 
eral welfare  of  the  United  States." 

The  office  of  the  executive  had  been  reconsidered.  His 
term  was  reduced  from  seven  to  four  years,  and,  adopting 
in  part  Hamilton's  views,  he  was  to  be  chosen  by  electors  ; 
but,  reluctant  to  relinquish  the  policy  which  would  con- 
sider the  states,  and  not  the  people,  of  the  union  as  the 
basis  of  the  constitution,  each  state  was  to  appoint,  "  in 
such  manner  as  its  legislature  may  direct,  a  number  of 
electors  equal  to  its  representation  in  congress."  If  the 
candidate  should  not  have  a  majority  of  the  ballots  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors,  the  eventual  choice  devolved  on 
the  senate. 

Hamilton  was  opposed  to  this  provision — it  being  an 
essential  part  of  his  policy,  that  the  chief  magistrate  should 
not  be  chosen  by  any  pre-existing  body,  and  should  be  the 
representative  of  the  people,  and  not  of  the  states.  The 
eventual  choice  by  the  senate  was  also  repugnant  to  his 
views.  He  saw,  as  an  inevitable  consequence,  that  many 
of  the  states,  to  secure  to  their  senators  an  ultimate  control 
over  the  executive,  would  defeat  the  choice  by  electors. 
Rather  than  incur  this  evil,  to  which,  as  the  president 
was  re-eligible,  would  be  superadded  the  danger  of  a  cor- 
rupt influence  being  exerted  by  him  upon  the  senate,  he  is 
represented  as  preferring  that  the  highest  electoral  ballot, 
though  not  that  of  a  majority,  should  appoint  him. 

The  constitution  of  this  office  was  a  subject  of  consid- 
eration until  near  the  termination  of  their  deliberations : 
an  effort  being  made,  but  defeated,  to  extend  the  execu- 
tive term  from  four  years  to  seven,  to  declare  him  not 


HAMILTON.  539 

re-eligible,  and  to  restore  the  choice  to  the  national  legis- 
lature. 

Hamilton's  views  as  to  the  structure  of  the  government, 
were  modified  during  the  progress  of  these  discussions. 

In  his  minutes  of  the  debates  taken  at  an  early  period 
of  its  deliberations,  this  remark  is  found :  "  At  the  period 
which  terminates  the  duration  of  the  executive,  there  will 
be  always  an  awful  crisis  in  the  national  situation."  This 
apprehension  grew  with  his  reflections  ;  and  when  he  saw 
that  the  senate  were  to  be  chosen  for  a  period  of  only  six 
years,  with  terms  ceasing  by  rotation,  and  to  be  chosen  by 
the  states  in  their  sovereign  capacities,  and  not  by  electors 
of  the  people,  it  became  a  necessary  consequence  that  he 
would  limit  the  duration  of  the  executive  office  propor- 
tionably.  A  president  of  so  great  duration  as  good  beha- 
viour, with  a  senate  of  so  limited  a  duration,  would  soon 
have  become  its  master. 

Influenced  by  these  considerations,  he  drew  up  a  second 
plan  while  the  convention  was  sitting,  which  limited  the 
term  of  the  president  to  only  three  years. 

The  powers  of  the  president  were  again  discussed,  and 
were  established  according  to  the  provisions  in  his  first 
plan.  He  was  declared  to  be  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of 
the  several  states.  All  treaties  were  to  be  made  by  him, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  with  this  quali- 
fication, that  "  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur." 
In  defining  the  power  of  appointment,  with  the  exception 
that  the  senate  were  to  have  a  voice  in  that  of  the  heads 
of  the  executive  departments,  his  plan  was  also  closely 
followed.  The  other  provisions  as  to  this  great  office, 
were  analogous  to  those  he  had  devised  ;  and  though  with- 
out the  guards  he  had  sought  to  interpose,  the  great  prin- 
ciple was  finally  established,  that  he  was  to  be  chosen 
through  the  medium  of  electors  chosen  by  the  people. 


540  THE    LIFE    OF 

His  first  plan,  it  is  seen,  contemplated  a  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, to  consist  in  the  first  instance  of  one  hundred 
members.  This  number  was  proposed  by  Hugh  William- 
son, but  was  not  approved. 

A  house  of  representatives,  to  consist  of  sixty-five  mem- 
bers, which  the  scheme  then  before  the  convention  had  in 
view,  he  thought  was  on  so  narrow  a  scale  as  to  be  dan- 
gerous, and  justly  to  warrant  a  jealousy  for  the  liberty  of 
the  country.  It  was  the  more  important  in  his  view  to 
enlarge  it,  because  of  the  determination  to  give  the  event- 
ual choice  of  the  president  to  that  branch  of  the  legislature, 
and  from  a  belief,  as  he  remarked,  "  that  the  connection  be- 
tween the  president  and  senate  would  tend  to  perpetuate 
him  by  corrupt  influence."*  Hamilton's  "  earnestness  and 
anxiety  "  on  this  point  were  felt  by  Washington,  and  after 
the  convention  had  refused  to  enlarge  the  representation,  at 
the  last  moment  of  its  sitting,  when  he  rose  to  put  the  final 
question  on  the  constitution,  he  requested  that  the  ratio  of 
representation  should  be  established  at  thirty  instead  of 
forty  thousand  for  each  representative,  until  a  census  should 
be  taken.  The  diminished  ratio  was  unanimously  assented 
to.  In  further  security  of  liberty,  Hamilton's  important 
precaution  had  been  adopted,  excluding  any  "religious 
test "  as  a  qualification  for  office,  but  omitting  the  prohibi- 
tion in  his  plan  of  the  establishment  "  by  law  of  any  reli- 
gious sect  or  denomination." 

One  article  of  the  draft  then  before  that  body  provided 
that,  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of 
the  states  in  the  union  for  an  amendment  of  the  constitu- 
tion, the  legislature  of  the  United  States  should  call  a  con- 
vention for  that  purpose. 

To  this  article  two  serious  objections  existed :  one,  that 
such  an  application  would  not  be  made  by  the  states,  unless 

*  Madison's  Debates,  1533. 


HAMILTON.  541 

with  a  view  to  increase  their  powers,  and  the  more  enfee- 
ble the  general  government ;  the  other,  the  danger  to  be 
apprehended  of  throwing  open  the  whole  constitution  to  a 
future  convention,  a  measure  which  might  result  in  a  dis- 
solution of  the  union. 

Hamilton's  plan  avoided  these  evils.  Unwilling  to  lose 
his  hold  upon  the  constitution  about  to  be  recommended  as 
the  great  bond  of  union,  it  provided  that  amendments 
might  be  proposed  by  the  legislature  of  the  United  States, 
two-thirds  of  its  members  concurring,  which,  if  ratified  by 
the  legislatures  or  conventions  of  two-thirds  of  the  states 
composing  the  union,  should  become  parts  of  the  still  ex- 
isting constitution. 

His  plan  also  probably  led  to  the  provisions  in  the  fifth 
article  of  the  constitution,  which  was  the  result  of  a  com- 
promise. 

The  draft  of  a  constitution  reported  on  the  sixth  of  Au- 
gust, proposed  that  it  should  be  laid  before  congress  for 
their  approbation,  and  declared  it  as  "  the  opinion  of  the 
convention,"  that  it  should  be  afterwards  submitted  to  a 
convention,  to  be  chosen  in  each  state  under  the  recom- 
mendation of  its  legislature,  to  receive  its  ratification. 
Should  congress  not  have  thought  proper  to  submit  the 
constitution  to  be  ratified,  an  event  which,  from  the  tem- 
per previously  displayed  by  that  body,  was  not  improbable, 
the  labours  of  the  convention  would  have  been  regarded 
as  little  more  than  a  solemn  farce. 

Hamilton's  plan  declared,  "that  this  constitution  shall 
be  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  conventions  in  the 
several  states,  the  members  whereof  shall  be  chosen  by  the 
people,  under  the  direction  of  their  legislatures  ;  the  rati- 
fication of  each  state  being  final,  with  power  to  each  con- 
vention, thus  immediately  expressing  the  will  of  the  people 
to  appoint  its  senators  and  representatives,  who,  as  Wash- 
ington would  be  the  choice,  were  to  elect  the  first  president. 


542  THE    LIFE    OF 

Thus  the  establishment  of  the  constitution  was  ensured, 
the  people  of  each  state  ratifying  it,  becoming  by  that  act 
parties  to  it,  and  forming  the  nucleus  of  a  more  extended 
union. 

The  last  article  of  the  present  constitution  was  evidently 
framed  in  reference  to  this  provision,  though  it  embodied 
a  vicious  principle  of  the  confederation ;  declaring  that 
"  the  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine*  states  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  the  constitution  between 
the  states  so  ratifying"  it. 

A  revised  plan  of  the  constitution  was  reported  by  John- 
son, on  the  twelfth  of  September,  with  a  letter  to  congress 
stating  it  to  be  the  result  of  a  spirit  of  amity,  and  of  that 
mutual  deference  and  concession  which  the  peculiarity  of 
their  political  situation  rendered  indispensable.  Several 
amendments  having  been  made  to  the  plan,  an  engrossed 
copy  was  read  before  the  convention  on  the  seventeenth 
of  September. 

Though  doubting  much  of  the  efficacy  of  several  of  its 
provisions,  Hamilton  earnestly  urged  the  unanimous  ap- 
proval of  all  the  members  of  the  convention.  Three — 
Gerry,  Mason,  and  Randolph — withheld  their  assent : 
all  the  other  delegates  affixed  their  signatures,  among 
which  Hamilton's  name  appears  as  the  sole  representative 
of  New- York. 

From  the  previous  narrative,  it  appears  that  any  uncom- 
pelled  disclosure  of  the  proceedings  of  the  federal  conven- 
tion, was  a  breach  of  an  express  stipulation  among  its  mem- 
bers. It  was  to  be  expected  that  those  who  could  violate 
that  stipulation,  would  not  be  very  scrupulous  as  to  the  ac- 
curacy of  their  statements. 

The  eminent  position  Hamilton  held  before  this  nation, 
would  naturally  excite  opposition  and  lead  to  misrepre- 

*  Seven  had  been  proposed,  then  ten,  then  nine. 


HAMILTON.  543 

sentation.  In  the  absence  of  real  grounds  of  inculpation, 
the  more  apt  would  be  the  resort  to  imputations  of  opinions 
offensive  to  the  easily  excited  suspicions  of  a  jealous  popu- 
lation. 

Such  was  the  policy  of  his  enemies.  His  theoretic  doubts 
of  the  permanency  of  purely  democratic  institutions,  and 
of  their  power  to  promote  the  happiness  of  a  community, 
and  his  approval  of  the  British  constitution,  however  quali- 
fied, the  open  avowal  of  which  ought  to  have  produced 
the  opposite  effect,  were  tortured  into  evidence  of  opinions 
unfriendly  to  liberty,  and  these  opinions  were  soon  repre- 
sented as  designs. 

Some  additional  statements  are  thus  rendered  necessary. 
In  the  reply  previously  referred  to,  made  by  Hamilton  to 
an  anonymous  attack  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and 
ninety-two,  at  the  seat  of  government,  when  nearly  all  the 
members  of  the  convention  were  living,  to  a  charge  that 
he  "  opposed  the  constitution  in  the  grand  convention,  be- 
cause it  was  too  republican,"  he  remarked,  "This  I  af- 
firm to  be  a  gross  misrepresentation.  To  prove  it  so,  it 
were  sufficient  to  appeal  to  a  single  fact,  namely,  that  the 
gentleman  alluded  to  was  the  only  member  from  the  state 
to  which  he  belonged  who  signed  the  constitution,  and,  it  is 
notorious,  against  the  prevailing  weight  of  the  official  in- 
fluence of  the  state,  and  against  what  would  probably  be 
the  opinion  of  a  large  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens,  till 
better  information  should  correct  their  first  impressions. 
How,  then,  can  he  be  believed  to  have  opposed  a  thing 
which  he  actually  agreed  to,  and  that  in  so  unsupported  a 
situation  and  under  circumstances  of  such  peculiar  respon- 
sibility ?  To  this,  I  shall  add  two  more  facts  : — One,  that 
the  member  in  question  never  made  a  proposition  to  the 
convention  which  was  not  conformable  to  the  republican 
theory.  The  other,  that  the  highest  toned  of  any  of  the 
propositions  made  by  him,  was  actually  voted  for  by  the 


544  THE    LIFE    OP 

representatives  of  several  states,  including  some  of  the 
principal  ones,  and  including  individuals  who,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  those  who  deem  themselves  the  only  republicans, 
are  pre-eminent  for  republican  character.  More  than  this 
I  am  not  at  liberty  to  say."* 

*  That  Virginia  voted  for  a  president  during  good  behaviour,  is  seen  in  the 
journal  of  the  seventeenth  of  July,  and  that  Madison  gave  one  of  these  votes 
is  not  controverted  by  him  in  his  report  of  the  proceedings  of  that  day.  He 
only  seeks  to  explain  it.  His  statement  is,  that  Doctor  McClurg  moved  this 
term  of  service,  with  the  comment,  that "  the  probable  object  of  this  motion  was 
merely  to  enforce  the  argument  against  the  re-eligibility  of  the  executive  ma- 
gistrate by  holding  out  a  tenure  during  good  behaviour,  as  the  alternative  for 
keeping  him  independent  of  the  legislature."  Madison  reports  his  own 
speech  on  this  motion,  which,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  it,  does  not  disapprove  it, 
and  adds  this  observation  in  a  note :  "  The  view  here  taken  of  the  subject, 
was  meant  to  aid  in  parrying  the  animadversions  likely  to  fall  on  the  motion 
of  Doctor  McClurg,  for  whom  J.  M.  had  a  particular  regard.  The  Doctor, 
though  possessing  talents  of  the  highest  order,  was  modest  and  unaccustom- 
ed to  exert  them  in  public  debate."  It  will  be  recollected  that  this  explana- 
tion is  given  after  Hamilton's  public  and  then  uncontradicted  charge,  that 
Madison's  views  on  this  subject  did  not  differ  from  his  own.  Complaisance 
strained  to  its  utmost  limit  might  induce  these  remarks  to  parry  animadver- 
sions on  a  friend,  but  complaisance  did  not  require  that  Madison  should  not 
merely  have  sought  to  parry  censure  of  the  proposition  of  a  friend  which  he 
wished  himself  to  be  regarded  as  disapproving,  but  that  he  should  have  record- 
ed his  tote  in  favour  of  it.  "  This  vote,"  he  also  observes  in  a  note,  "  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  any  certain  index  of  opinion,  as  a  number  in  the  affirma- 
tive probably  had  it  chiefly  in  view  to  alarm  those  attached  to  a  dependence 
of  the  executive  on  the  legislature,  and  thereby  facilitate  some  final  arrange- 
ment of  a  contrary  tendency.  The  avowed  friends  of  an  executive  •  during- 
good  behaviour,'  were  not  more  than  three  or  four,  nor  is  it  certain  they  would 
have  adhered  to  such  a  tenure."  Madison  has  also  left  the  evidence  that  he 
did  not  at  that  time  regard  such  a  term  of  office  as  being  inconsistent  with 
the  republican  theory.  "  If,"  he  wrote,  "  we  resort  for  a  criterion  to  the  dif- 
ferent principles  on  which  different  forms  of  government  are  established,  we 
may  define  a  republic  to  be,  or  at  least  may  bestow  that  name  on  a  govern- 
ment which  derives  all  its  powers  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  great  body 
of  the  people,  and  is  administered  by  persons  holding  their  offices  during  plea- 
sure, for  a  limited  period,  or  during  good  behaviour,"  &,c. — Federalist,  No.  3£>. 
Thus  his  vote  and  his  theory  were  at  this  time  consistent  with  each  other. — 
Mad.  Papers,  1125,  6,  9. 


HAMILTON.  545 

A  subsequent  misstatement  of  his  course  in  the  conven- 
tion, drew  forth  a  voluntary  publication  from  Luther  Mar- 
tin. "  That  Hamilton  in  a  most  able  and  eloquent  address, 
did  express  his  general  ideas  upon  the  subject  of  govern- 
ment, and  of  that  government  which  would  in  all  human 
probability  be  most  advantageous  for  the  United  States,  1 
admit ;  but,  in  thus  expressing  his  sentiments,  he  did  not 
suggest  a  wish  that  any  one  officer  of  the  government 
should  derive  his  power  from  any  other  source  than  the 
people  ;  that  there  should  be  in  any  instance  an  hereditary 
succession  to  office,  nor  that  any  person  should  continue 
longer  than  during  good  behaviour." 

Another  publication  appeared,  charging  him  with  having 
proposed  a  monarchy  to  the  convention.  This  was  denied, 
and  it  was  replied,  that  "  he  proposed  a  system  composed 
of  three  branches,  an  assembly,  a  senate,  and  a  governor. 
That  the  assembly  should  be  elected  by  the  people  for  three 
years,  and  that  the  senate  and  governor  should  be  likewise 
elected  by  the  people,  during  good  behaviour." 

In  answer  to  this  publication,  Hamilton  published  a  full 
explanatory  view  of  the  propositions  made  by  him. 

"  Thus*the  charge,"  he  said,  "is  at  length  reduced  to  spe- 
cific terms.  Before  it  can  be  decided,  however,  whether 
this  would  be  a  monarchy  or  a  republic,  it  seems  necessary 
to  settle  the  meaning  of  those  terms. 

"No  exact  definitions  have  settled  what  is  or  is  not  a  re- 
publican government  as  contradistinguished  from  a  monar- 
chical. Every  man  who  speaks  or  writes  on  the  subject, 
has  an  arbitrary  standard  in  his  own  mind.  The  mad  de- 
mocrat will  have  nothing  republican  which  does  not  accord 
with  his  own  mad  theory.  He  rejects  even  representation. 
Such  is  the  opinion  held  by  a  man,  now  one  of  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's ministers.  Some  authors  denominate  every  govern- 
ment a  monarchy,  in  which  the  executive  authority  is  placed 
in  a  single  hand,  whether  for  life  or  for  years,  and  wheth- 

69 


546  THE   LIFE    OF 

er  conferred  by  election  or  by  descent.  According  to  thig 
definition,  the  actual  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  most  of  the  states,  is  a  monarchy. 

"  In  practice,  the  terms  republic  and  republican  have  been 
applied  with  as  little  precision.  Even  the  government  of 
England,  with  a  powerful  hereditary  king,  has  been  re- 
peatedly spoken  of  by  authors  as  a  commonwealth  or  re- 
public. The  late  government  of  Holland,  with  an  heredi- 
tary stadtholder,  was  constantly  so  denominated.  That 
of  Poland,  previous  to  the  dissolution  of  the  state,  with  an 
executive  for  life,  was  never  called  by  any  other  name. 

"  The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  all  governments  have  been 
deemed  republics,  in  which  a  large  portion  of  the  sove- 
reignty has  been  vested  in  the  whole  or  in  a  considerable 
body  of  the  people  ;  and  that  none  have  been  deemed  mon- 
archies, as  contrasted  with  the  republican  standard,  in 
which  there  has  not  been  an  hereditary  chief  magistrate. 

**  Were  we  to  attempt  a  correct  definition  of  a  republi- 
can government,  we  should  say, '  That  is  a  republican  gov- 
ernment, in  which  both  the  executive  and  legislative  organs 
are  appointed  by  a  popular  election,  and  hold  their  offices 
upon  a  responsible  and  defeasible  tenure.'  If  this  be  not 
so,  then  the  tenure  of  good  behaviour  for  the  judicial  de- 
partment is  anti-republican,  and  the  government  of  this 
state  is  not  a  republic;  if  the  contrary,  then  a  govern- 
ment would  not  cease  to  be  republican  because  a  branch 
of  the  legislature,  or  even  the  executive,  held  their  offices 
during  good  behaviour.  In  this  case  the  two  essential  cri- 
teria would  still  concur — the  creation  of  the  officer  by  a 
popular  election,  and  the  possibility  of  his  removal  in  the 
course  of  law,  by  accusation  before,  and  conviction  by,  a 
competent  tribunal. 

"  How  far  it  may  be  expedient  to  go,  even  within  the 
bounds  of  the  theory,  in  framing  a  constitution,  is  a  differ- 
ent question,  upon  which  we  pretend  not  to  give  our 


HAMILTON.  547 

opinion.  It  is  enough  for  the  purpose  of  our  assertion,  if 
it  be  in  principle  correct.  For  even  then,  upon  the  state- 
ment of  the  '  citizen' himself,  General  Hamilton  did  not 
propose  a  monarchy. 

"Thus  much  too  we  will  add,  that  whether  General  Ham- 
ilton at  any  stage  of  the  deliberations  of  the  convention 
did,  or  did  not  make  the  proposition  ascribed  to  him,  it  is 
certain  that  his  more  deliberate  and  final  opinion,  adopted 
a  moderate  term  of  years  for  the  duration  of  the  office  of 
president ;  as  also  appears  by  a  plan  of  a  constitution,  in 
writing  now  in  this  city,  drawn  up  by  that  gentleman  in  detail. 

"  Whether  the  first  system  presented  by  Mr.  Hamilton, 
was  the  one  to  which  he  gave  a  decided  preference,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say,  since  we  find  him  adopting  and 
proposing  a  different  one  in  the  course  of  the  sitting  of  the 
convention.  It  may  have  been  that  his  opinion  was  nearly 
balanced  between  the  two  ;  nay,  it  is  possible  he  may 
have  really  preferred  the  one  last  proposed,  and  that  the 
former,  like  many  others,  was  brought  forward  to  make  it 
the  subject  of  discussion,  and  see  what  would  be  the  opin- 
ions of  different  gentlemen  on  so  momentous  a  subject. 
And,  it  is  now  repeated  with  confidence,  that  the  Virginia 
delegation  did  vote  for  the  most  energetic  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  that  Mr.  Maddison  was  of  the  number.  But  we 
desire  to  be  distinctly  understood,  that  it  was  never  intended, 
by  mentioning  this  circumstance,  to  impeach  the  purity  of 
Mr.  Maddison's  motives.  To  arraign  the  morals  of  any 
man,  because  he  entertains  a  speculative  opinion  on  gov- 
ernment different  from  ourselves,  is  worse  than  arrogance. 
He  who  does  so,  must  entertain  notions  in  ethics  extremely 
crude,  and  certainly  unfavourable  to  virtue." 

It  is  not  to  be  believed  that  such  a  statement  would  have 
been  thus  publicly  made,  challenging  contradiction,  during 
the  lives  of  so  many  members  of  the  convention,  if  it  had 
been  in  any  respect  erroneous  ;  nor  that  Hamilton  would 


548  THE    LIFE    OF 

have  referred  to  his  second  plan  of  a  constitution  as  being 
"  in  writing  now  in  this  city,"  unless  it  was  there  to  be 
produced.  This  was  a  topic  of  much  interest,  and  much 
canvassed  in  the  political  controversies  which  had  arisen, 
yet  his  representation  was  not  controverted.  Another 
exposition  of  his  opinions  is  found  in  a  letter  addressed  by 
him  to  Colonel  Pickering  during  the  following  year.* 

*  New- York,  September  16,  1803. 

HT    DEAR    SIR, 

I  will  make  no  apology  for  my  delay  in  answering  your  inquiry  some  time 
since  made,  because  I  could  offer  none  which  would  satisfy  myself.  I  pray 
you  only  to  believe  that  it  proceeded  from  any  thing  rather  than  want  of  re- 
spect or  regard.  I  shall  now  comply  with  your  request. 

The  highest  toned  propositions  which  I  made  in  the  convention  were  for 
a  president,  senate,  and  judges,  during  good  behaviour  ;  a  house  of  represen- 
tatives for  three  years.  Though  I  would  have  enlarged  the  legislative  power 
of  the  general  government,  yet  I  never  contemplated  the  abolition  of  the  state 
governments ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  were,  in  some  particulars,  constitu- 
ent parts  of  my  plan. 

This  plan  was,  in  my  conception,  conformable  with  the  strict  theory  of  a 
government  purely  republican  ;  the  essential  criteria  of  which  are,  that  the 
principal  organs  of  the  executive  and  legislative  departments  be  elected  by 
the  people,  and  hold  their  offices  by  a  responsible  and  temporary  or  defeasible 
tenure. 

A  vote  was  taken  on  the  proposition  respecting  the  executive.  Five  states 
were  in  favour  of  it ;  among  these  Virginia ;  and  though,  from  the  manner  of  vo- 
ting by  delegations,  individuals  were  not  distinguished,  it  was  morally  certain, 
from  the  known  situation  of  the  Virginia  members,  (six  in  number,  two  of 
them,  Mason  and  Randolph,  professing  popular  doctrines,)  that  Madison  must 
have  concurred  in  the  vote  of  Virginia.  Thus,  if  I  sinned  against  republi- 
canism, Mr.  Madison  was  not  less  guilty. 

I  may  truly  then  say  that  I  never  proposed  either  a  president  or  senate  for 
life,  and  that  I  neither  recommended  nor  meditated  the  annihilation  of  the 
state  governments. 

And  I  may  add,  that  in  the  course  of  the  discussions  in  the  convention, 
neither  the  propositions  thrown  out  for  debate,  nor  even  those  voted  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  deliberation,  were  considered  as  evidences  of  a  definitive  opin- 
ion in  the  proposer  or  voter.  It  appeared  to  me  to  be  in  some  sort  understood 
that,  with  a  view  to  free  investigation,  experimental  propositions  might  be 
made,  which  were  to  be  received  merely  as  suggestions  for  consideration. 


HAMILTON.  5 19 

These  statements  receive  light  from  the  letter  of  a  con- 
temporary.* "  I  will  conclude  this  long  epistle  by  a  con- 
cise account  of  a  conversation  had  with  Hamilton,  which 
may  not  be  deemed  uninteresting,  since  it  exhibits  him  as 


Accordingly  it  is  a  fact,  that  my  final  opinion  was  against  an  executive  do. 
ring  good  behaviour,  on  account  of  the  increased  danger  to  the  public  tran. 
quillity  incident  to  the  election  of  a  magistrate  of  this  degree  of  permanency. 
In  the  plan  of  a  constitution  which  I  drew  up  while  the  convention  was 
sitting,  and  which  I  communicated  to  Mr.  Madison  about  the  close  of  it, 
perhaps  a  day  or  two  after,  the  office  of  president  has  no  greater  duration 
than  for  three  years. 

This  plan  was  predicated  upon  these  bases  : — 1.  That  the  political  princi- 
ples of  the  people  of  this  country  would  endure  nothing  but  a  republican 
government. — 2.  That  in  the  actual  situation  of  the  country,  it  was  itself 
right  and  proper  that  the  republican  theory  should  have  a  fair  and  full  trial. — 
3.  That,  to  such  a  trial  it  was  essential  that  the  government  should  be  so 
constructed  as  to  give  it  all  the  energy  and  the  stability  reconcilable  with 
the  principles  of  that  theory.  These  were  the  genuine  sentiments  of  my 
heart,  and  upon  them  I  then  acted. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  it  may  not  hereafter  be  discovered  that  through  want 
of  sufficient  attention  to  the  last  idea,  the  experiment  of  republican  govern- 
ment, even  in  this  country,  has  not  been  as  complete,  as  satisfactory,  and  as 
decisive,  as  could  be  wished.t 

*  Governor  Lewis. 


t  In  the  appendix,  No.  5,  to  Madison's  Debates,  this  letter  is  referred  to  as  evidence  that 
"  Colonel  Hamilton  was  under  the  erroneous  impression  that  this  paper  limited  the  duration 
of  the  presidential  term  to  three  years." 

The  "  paper"  thus  referred  to  by  Madison,  is  the  first  plan.  The  terra  of  three  years  is 
in  the  second  plan.  Madison  has  not  left  behind  him  the  original  of  either  of  the  plans 
which  Hamilton  gave  him,  but  his  copy  of  one  of  them.  Hamilton's  statement  is,  that  he 
"  communicated  to  Madison  the  plan  in  which  the  office  of  president  has  no  greater  dura- 
tion than  three  years,  not  that  he  left  it  with  him,  but  on  the  contrary  publicly  refers  to  it 
as  "  a  plan  of  a  constitution  in  writing  now  in  this  city,  drawn  up  by  that  gentleman  in 
detail." 

Having  obtained  a  copy  of  the  first  plan,  which  probably  was  used  during  the  debates 
in  the  convention,  Madison  retains  it  in  his  possession,  and  refers  to  it  as  evidence  of  Ham- 
ilton's "want  of  memory,"  and  not  to  the  second  plan,  which  Hamilton  tenders  as  giving 
the  testimony  to  the  change  of  his  opinions.  But  he  does  not  deny  that  there  was  a  second 
plan.  It  will  be  remarked  that  the  volume  containing  the  Journal  of  the  Convention  de- 
posited in  the  department  of  state  is  imperfect — the  minutes  of  September  15th  being  crossed 
with  a  pen,  and  that  the  deficiency  is  supplied  by  minutes  furnished  by  Madison.  Thus, 
tho  evidence  which  this  part  of  the  journal  might  have  given  on  this  subject,  is  lout.— Jour- 
nal, p.  379,  in  a  not*. 


550  THE    LIFE    OP 

a  statesman  who  looked  beyond  the  present  to  the  far  fu- 
ture interests  of  his  country.  It  is  well  known  that  he 
never  was  in  the  habit  of  concealing  or  disguising  his  sen- 
timents on  the  subject  of  government. 

"  Openly  denouncing,  on  all  occasions,  the  assertion '  that 
the  best  administered  was  best,'  as  a  political  heresy, 
maintaining  the  superior  aptitude  to  a  good  administration 
of  some  systems  over  others,  and  giving  the  preference, 
abstractedly  considered,  to  a  well-balanced  and  limited 
monarchy,  he  was  at  the  same  time  undeviating  from  the 
opinion  that  such  a  government  could  not  be  established 
in  the  United  States,  because  a  necessary  ingredient  in  its 
composition,  a  privileged  order,  would  be  sought  for  in 
vain  among  a  people  whose  favourite  motto  was  '  Liberty 
and  Equality.'  When,  therefore,  the  paragraphists  of  the 
day  announced  that  he  had  proposed  in  the  convention  of 
the  states  a  monarchic  form  of  government,  I  was  satis- 
fied it  was  the  effect  of  misconception  or  designed  misre- 
presentation. 

"A  second  version,  that  he  proposed  a  presidency  for  life, 
I  thought  more  probable,  but  determined  to  suspend  my 
opinion  until  I  should  have  an  interview  with  him.  This 
was  afforded  to  me  soon  after  his  return  to  the  city  of 
New- York.  The  monarchic  proposition,  as  I  expected, 
he  explicitly  denied.  The  other  he  admitted,  with  the  qua- 
lification, a  president  during  good  behaviour,  or  for  a  com- 
petent period,  subject  to  impeachment,  with  an  ineligibility 
forever  thereafter. 

" '  My  reasons,' "  he  said,  "  '  were,  an  exclusion,  as  far  as 
possible,  of  the  influence  of  executive  patronage  in  the  choice 
of  a  chief  magistrate,  and  a  desire  to  avoid  the  incalculable 
mischief  which  must  result  from  the  too  frequent  elec- 
tions of  that  officer.  In  conclusion,  he  made  the  following 
prophetic  observation :  *  You  nor  I,  my  friend,  *may  not 
live  to  see  the  day,  but  most  assuredly  it  will  come,  when 


HAMILTON.  551 

every  vital  interest  of  the  state  will  be  merged  in  the  all- 
absorbing  question  of  who  shall  be  the  next  PRESIDENT  ? ' ' 

As  to  the  opinions  entertained  by  him  on  the  theory  of 
government,  it  is  felt  that  in  the  mode  in  which,  from  a 
desire  to  withhold  nothing,  they  appear,  much  injustice 
may  have  been  done  him ;  as  in  the  brief  of  his  great 
speech,  previous  to  an  exposition  of  his  first  plan  of  a  con- 
stitution, the  mere  general  heads  are  given  without  those 
qualifications  that  must  have  formed  an  essential  part  of  it ; 
while,  of  the  various  efforts  made  by  him  to  harmonize 
and  to  adjust  the  different  parts  of  the  complicated  scheme 
as  it  progressed,  evolving  new  views  and  sources  of 
thought,  and  thus  informing  the  mind  of  the  convention,  so 
little  can  be  placed  before  the  public. 

Happily,  in  a  comparison  of  this  brief  with  his  numbers 
of  the  Federalist,  they  will  be  found,  with  the  exception 
of  his  abstract  discussion  of  the  theory  of  government,  in  a 
great  measure  to  have  filled  up  its  outline. 

From  these  sources  it  is  ascertained  that  the  leading 
maxim  of  Hamilton  was,  that  a  good  government  consists 
in  a  vigorous  execution,  that  such  vigour  is  "  essential  to 
the  security  of  liberty,"  and  that,  "  in  the  contemplation  of 
a  sound  and  well-informed  mind,  their  interests  never  can 
be  separated." 

To  reconcile  the  requisite  vigour  with  the  perfect  se- 
curity of  liberty,  he  well  knew  was  almost  impracticable ; 
to  approximate  them  was  all  that  he  hoped  to  effect ;  but  in 
what  mode  this  could  best  be  accomplished,  was  a  problem 
which  he  acknowledged  to  be  full  of  difficulties. 

His  well-founded  and  openly  avowed  doubts  upon  a  sub- 
ject which  has  embarrassed  every  reflecting  practical  mind, 
have  been  denounced  as  evidences  of  dispositions  unfriendly 
to  freedom,  and  upon  so  slight  a  basis  has  been  raised  a  mass 
of  prejudice  which  impeded  all  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
well-being  of  this  country.  To  apply  to  him  his  own  gen- 


552       '  THE    LIFE    OF 

eral  remark,  his  "  enlightened  zeal  for  the  energy  and  effi- 
ciency of  government,  has  been  stigmatized  as  the  off- 
spring of  a  temper  fond  of  power,  and  hostile  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  liberty."  Without  caring  to  propitiate  popular 
prejudices  on  a  subject  as  to  which  his  own  declaration  is 
deemed  sufficient — "  I  presume  I  shall  not  be  disbelieved 
when  I  declare,  that  the  establishment  of  a  republican 
government  on  a  safe  and  solid  basis  is  an  object  of  all 
others  nearest  and  most  dear  to  my  own  heart" — it  is 
enough  to  refer  to  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  is  seen  combating  the  arbi- 
trary policy  of  England ;  exhorting  the  American  people 
to  resistance  ;  unfolding  the  future  glories  of  the  empire  ; 
rejecting  with  scorn  the  idea  of  a  system  sustained  "  by 
pensioners,  placemen,  and  parasites ;"  holding  up  to  them, 
as  the  great  prize  of  the  contest  they  were  invited  to 
wage,  the  establishment  of  the  "  steady,  uniform,  unshaken 
security  of  constitutional  freedom,"  and  avowing  with  a 
noble  enthusiasm,  which  was  his  perpetual  inspiration,  "  I 
would  die  to  preserve  the  law  upon  a  solid  foundation  ;  but 
take  away  liberty,  and  the  foundation  is  destroyed." 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty,  amidst  the  din  and 
tumult  of  arms,  displaying  all  the  evils  of  a  want  of  gov- 
ernment, and  urging  "  a  solid  confederation." 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  pressing  on  the 
minds  of  the  public,  in  the  "  Continentalist,"  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  "  great  federative  republic,  closely  linked  in  the 
pursuit  of  a  common  interest." 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-two,  inducing  the  legis- 
lature of  New- York  to  propose  "a  general  convention, 
authorized  to  revise  and  amend  the  confederation." 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-three,  at  least  an  equal 
participator  in  every  effort  to  invigorate  the  confederacy, 
framing  an  appeal  to  the  people,  exhibiting  its  infirmities, 
and  inviting  them  to  establish  a  well-balanced  government. 


HAMILTON.  553 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-four,  cautioning  them 
against  the  excesses  of  liberty,  and  enjoining  them  to  watch, 
with  more  intensity  than  the  vestal  fire,  "  this  sacred  de- 
posit "  which  had  been  confided  to  them. 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-five,  imploring  them  to 
dismiss  the  jealousies  which  had  been  excited  for  their  de- 
struction, and  to  repose  their  trust  where  it  should  be 
placed — "  all  government  implying  trust." 

In  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-six,  again  addressing 
them  from  Annapolis,  and  invoking  them,  by  the  strongest 
motives,  td  appoint  a  convention  empowered  to  frame  a 
constitution  "  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  union." 

And  in  seventeen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  after  indu- 
cing the  concurrence  of  New- York  and  the  co-operation 
of  congress,  as  a  member  of  that  convention,  sacrificing  all 
prejudgments  ;  surrendering  his  matured  opinions,  and  la- 
bouring until  he  saw  a  constitution  framed,  not  such  as  he 
would  have  desired,  but  "  having,  as  far  as  was  consistent 
with  its  genius,  all  the  features  of  a  good  government ;"  a 
constitution  to  which  he  pledged  his  support  by  his  signa- 
ture— to  fulfil  which  pledge  he  devoted  all  his  energies. 

In  this  series  of  acts,  having  one  uniform  and  single 
end — the  "  establishment  of  a  republican  government  upon 
a  safe  and  solid  basis  " — will  be  found  an  ample  refutation 
of  all  the  calumnies  which  have  been  propagated. 

But,  while  repelling  this  accusation  of  his  hostility  to  the 
existing  system,  it  would  have  been  a  not  less  injustice  to 
his  memory  to  have  concealed  his  distrusts  of  the  success 
of  an  unbalanced  democracy. 

History  had  shown  all  free  governments,  either  convulsed 
by  intestine,  feuds  and  foreign  influence,  or  prostrated  be- 
fore the  mob  and  surrendered  to  arbitrary  hands ;  exhibit- 
,mg  in  every  stage  of  their  progress  deeper  shades  of 
misery  and  humiliation. 

To  this  current  of  human  affairs  there  existed  but  one 

70 


554  THE    LIFE    OF 

exception.  A  government,  springing  up  amidst  the  bigotry 
and  barbarism  of  the  middle  ages,  had  been  seen  gradually 
moulded  by  the  steady  influence  of  enlightened  opinion ; 
resisting  during  centuries  every  form  of  violence,  and 
when  at  last  overthrown  by  the  crimes  of  its  magistrates, 
recovering  itself  by  the  strong  influence  it  had  itself  cre- 
ated, and  renewed  in  its  vigour  by  constitutional  checks, 
the  fruits  of  experience ;  susceptible  of  amendment  with- 
out necessarily  jeopardizing  its  existence ;  and  notwith- 
standing its  defects — for  what  government  is  without  de- 
fects ? — imparting  to  its  people  the  greatest  security  and 
largest  amount  of  durable  happiness  which  any  constitution 
ever  had  bestowed. 

Thus  finding  in  the  British  government  a  system  pro- 
ceeding upon  the  fact,  that  society  is  necessarily  composed 
of  different  interests,  and  obviating  the  great  difficulty  of 
all  governments  by  preserving  a  counterpoise  of  each  in- 
terest ;  exerting  itself,  but  regulated  in  that  exertion,  for  its 
own  protection.  Thus  seeing  the  realization  of  that  for 
which  the  wise  of  antiquity  had  wished,  but  had  not  dared 
to  hope,*  which  the  experience  of  centuries  had  approved, 
can  it  be  a  source  of  surprise  that  he  entertained  the  opin- 
ion, that  "  it  was  a  model,  though  unattainable,  to  be  ap- 
proached as  near  as  possible." 

But  his  was  not  a  blind  or  indiscriminate  admiration. 
The  representation  that  "  it  was  his  error  to  adhere  too 
closely  to  the  precedents  of  the  British  constitution ;  that 
he  conceded  sometimes,  in  these  precedents,  equal  authori- 
ty to  what  was  good  and  bad,  to  its  principles  and  its 

*  Cicero  observes — de  Repub.  1.  2 — "Esse  optime  constitutam  rempubli- 
cam  quee  ex  tribus  generibus  illis,  regali,  optimo,  et  popular!,  sit  modice  con- 
fusa."  And  Tacitus,  in  his  Annals,  remarks,  "  Cunctas  nationes,  et  urbes, 
populus  aut  primores,  aut  singuli  regunt ;  delecta  ex  his  et  constituta  reipub- 
licae  forma  laudari  facilius  quam  evenire,  vel  si  evenit,  baud  diuturna  cam 
potest." 


HAMILTON.  555 

abuses ;  that  he  did  not  allow  to  the  variety  of  political 
forms,  to  the  flexibility  of  human  society,  a  sufficient  share 
nor  a  bold  enough  confidence,"*  is  founded  on  the  calum- 
nies of  his  opponents,  propagated  for  the  two-fold  purpose 
of  exciting  against  him  the  jealousy  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, and  of  impairing  his  permanent  fame. 

In  his  commentary  on  the  federal  constitution,  when 
speaking  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  he  observes  :f 
"  Her  peculiar  felicity  of  situation  has,  in  a  great  degree, 
preserved  the  liberty  which  that  country  to  this  day  enjoys, 
in  spite  of  the  prevalent  venality  and  corruption." 

He  is  previously  seen  to  have  condemned  the  great  in- 
novation in  her  system,  in  the  vote  of  septennial  from  tri- 
ennial parliaments,  as  producing  an  "  overgrown  power"  in 
the  crown  ;  and  referring  to  what  he  calls  "  these  danger- 
ous practices,"  he  extols  "  the  important  distinction,  so  well 
understood  in  America,  between  a  constitution  established 
by  the  people  and  unalterable  by  the  government,  and 
alterable"  by  it. 

He  speaks  also  of  the  "  ostentatious  apparatus  of  her 
monarchy"  as  a  source  of  expense,  and  adverts  to  her  ex- 
perience as  presenting  to  mankind  "  so  many  political  les- 
sons, both  of  the  monitory  and  exemplary  kind." 

He  dwells  upon  the  superiority,  in  one  particular,  of  the 
federal  constitution,  as  separating  the  judiciary  entirely 
from  all  political  agency,  and  points  out  the  "  absurdity  of 
subjecting  the  decisions  of  men  selected  for  their  know- 
ledge of  the  laws,  acquired  by  long  and  laborious  study, 
to  the  revision  and  control  of  men,  who,  for  the  want  of 
the  same  advantage,  cannot  but  be  deficient  in  that  know- 
ledge." 

Nor  was  he  insensible  to  the  variety  of  political  forms 


*  Vie     Correspondance  et  Ecrits  de  Washington,    &c.  par  M.  Guizot. 
t  Federalist,  Nos.  8,  53,  and  56. 


556  THE    LIFE    OF 

suggested  by  the  flexibility  of  human  nature,  and  the  vary- 
ing condition  of  society.  In  his  letter  to  Washington  pre- 
viously quoted,  he  is  seen  to  remark,  that  though  "  the  peo- 
ple were  not  ripe  for  such  a  plan  as  he  advocated,  yet  there 
was  no  reason  to  despair  of  their  adopting  one  equally  en- 
ergetic ;"  and  in  this  convention  he  proposed  two  plans  of 
government,  founded  on  different  principles,  and  with  dif- 
ferent combinations  of  the  same  principle  ;  and  aided  large- 
ly in  forming  the  compound  system  which  was  adopted. 

In  answer  to  the  objections  derived  from  former  expe- 
rience to  republican  governments,  he  exclaims :  "  Happily 
for  mankind,  stupendous  fabrics  reared  on  the  basis  of 
liberty,  which  have  flourished  for  ages,  have,  in  a  few  glo- 
rious instances,  refuted  these  gloomy  sophisms ;  and,  I 
trust,  America  will  be  the  broad  and  solid  foundation  of 
other  edifices,  not  less  magnificent,  which  will  be  equally 
permanent  monuments  of  their  error." 

Hamilton  was  too  wise  not.  to  have  known  that  a  con- 
stitution such  as  that  of  England — though,  if  it  had  been 
established,  it  would  have  maintained  itself — could  not  be 
established  in  the  United  States  ;  that  every  attempt  to  in- 
troduce it  with  the  consent  of  the  people,  would  be  a 
fruitless  folly,  and,  without  that  consent,  a  hideous  crime. 
He  sought  to  effect  all  that  was  practicable  under  such  cir- 
cumstances— to  embody  in  a  republican  system  such  checks 
as  it  would  admit — to  reconcile,  to  the  utmost  extent  its 
genius  would  bear,  energy  and  stability  with  real  liberty — 
hoping  that  this  great  commonwealth  might  repose  under 
a  Constitutional  Charter,  granted  and  revocable  by  the 
people,  until  experience  should  suggest  and  cure  its  defects. 

The  jealousy  of  political  rivalry  has  misrepresented  his 
views,  and  condemned  his  "  peculiar  opinions,"  because 
they  did  not  prevail. 

But  it  forgot  that  it  is  the  characteristic  of  minds  of  the 
first  order  to  aim  at  objects  above  the  common  reach. 


HAMILTON.  557 

The  eye  that  penetrates  beyond  the  horizon  of  error ;  the 
hand  which,  amid  its  daily  ministrations,  is  ever  pointing 
to  some  great  future  good  ;  the  genius  that,  always  fertile 
in  expedient,  feels  that  the  power  which  impels,  makes 
sure  its  aim  ; — these  all  are  directed  by  a  generous  confi- 
dence of  success,  springing  from  conscious  unexhausted 
resources,  that  will  not,  cannot  despair. 

Ordinary  men  do  not  admit  the  magic  virtues,  the  al- 
most inspiration  by  which  they  are  overruled  to  perform 
their  respective  parts ;  but  the  influence  is  exerted,  the 
plans,  the  institutions,  the  hopes  of  the  world  are  raised, 
and  though  the  agent  may  be  unseen,  or  withdrawn,  it 
moves  on  in  glorious  harmony  with  the  high  destinies  he 
has  prescribed. 

It  is  true  that  Hamilton's  views  did  not  all  prevail,  but 
their  conservative  character  was  imparted  to  this  great 
reform,  and  much  of  its  best  spirit  may  still  be  due  to  la- 
bours which,  though  not  wholly  successful,  owing  to  the 
hesitations  of  others,  were  not  without  the  choicest  fruits.* 

His  whole  plan  was  not  adopted ;.  but  when  it  is  asked 
whose  plan  was,  the  answer  is,  that  of  no  individual. 
"  The  truth  is,"  Hamilton  remarked,  "  the  plan,  in  all  its 
parts,  was  a  plan  of  accommodation." 

As  a  great  bond  of  union  to  a  dissolving  confederacy, 
he  valued  it  beyond  all  price ;  but  as  creating  a  compound 
government  of  a  very  extraordinary  and  complicated  na- 
ture, in  common  with  Washington  and  Patrick  Henry,  and 
other  distinguished  individuals,  he  doubted  its  results.  "  I 
acknowledge,"  he  said,  when  recommending  its  adoption, 

*  Guizot  remarks — "  Hamilton  must  be  classed  among  the  men  who  have 
best  known  the  vital  principles  and  fundamental  conditions  of  a  government; 
not  of  a  government  such  as  this,  but  of  a  government  worthy  of  its  mission 
•&nd  of  its  name.  There  is  not  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  an 
element  of  order,  of  force,  of  duration,  which  he  has  not  powerfully  contribu- 
ted to  introduce  into  it,  and  to  cause  to  predominate." 


558  THE    LIFE    OP 

"  a  thorough  conviction,  that  any  amendments  which  may 
upon  mature  consideration  be  thought  useful,  will  be  ap- 
plicable to  the  organization  of  the  government,  not  to  the 
mass  of  its  powers." 

These  doubts  have  been  derided  as  extravagant,  and  the 
prosperity  of  this  country  has  been  appealed  to  as  a  com- 
plete refutation  of  them.  How  far  this  prosperity  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  influences  of  the  constitution,  other  than  as 
a  mean  of  preserving  the  national  union,  is  not  easily  as- 
certained ;  but  certainly,  without  derogating  from  the  value 
of  that  instrument,  much  of  it  may  be  attributed  to  a  pe- 
culiar felicity  of  situation  and  of  circumstances,  indepen- 
dent of  the  government. 

Nor  is  prosperity,  in  its  most  observed  aspects,  an  uner- 
ring or  a  universal  test  of  the  excellence  of  political  in- 
stitutions ;  for  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  a  nation  may  have 
fast  increasing  wealth,  and  expanding  power,  and  widely 
diffused  intelligence,  and  boundless  enterprise,  while  prin- 
ciples may  be  at  work  in  its  system  that  will  ultimately 
render  all  these  advantages  sources  of  evil. 

Experience  had  hitherto  been  supposed  to  teach,  that  a 
stable  government  required  the  operative  counterpoise  of 
the  different  interests  of  property  and  numbers.  The 
federal  constitution  has  substituted  for  these,  theoretic 
checks ;  a  senate  representing  states,  which  are  only  the 
artificial  representatives  of  different  aggregates  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  a  house  of  representatives  chosen  directly  by  the 
same  people  under  the  influence  of  those  states — this  sen- 
ate of  greater  duration  than  the  popular  branch,  and  there- 
fore supposed  to  be  removed  from  immediate  popular  im- 
pulses, yet  by  the  doctrine  of  instruction,  which  is  fast 
becoming  a  law  of  the  system,  rendered  the  mere  organ 
of  these  impulses ;  an  executive  chosen  by  the  members 
of  separate  electoral  colleges  of  the  people  of  the  states, 
sitting  apart  and  supposed  to  be  secure  from  the  too  direct 


HAMILTON.  559 

action  of  the  mass,  yet  in  fact  chosen,  not  to  deliberate  on 
the  merits  of  a  candidate,  but  pledged  to  carry  into  effect 
the  nomination  of  a  caucus — that  candidate  thus  elevated, 
filling  an  executive  department  of  limited  powers,  but  pos- 
sessing powers  far  above  the  constitution,  as  the  common 
focus  of  the  passions  of  the  multitude. 

Other  of  the  ascertained  effects  of  the  system  may  also 
be  adverted  to.  Among  the  chief  ends  of  government 
are — security  against  foreign  aggression — internal  peace. 
To  attain  the  first  of  these  objects,  the  force  of  the  com- 
munity must  be  at  the  command  of  the  common  sovereign ; 
of  the  latter,  the  law  is  the  shield.  Yet,  in  the  only 
war  which  has  been  waged,  some  of  the  most  powerful 
members  of  the  union  have  been  seen  to  withhold  their 
military  force  from  the  arm  of  the  general  government, 
expressly  charged  with  the  general  defence,  uncontrolled, 
uncompelled  ;  while  the  tranquillity  and  existence  of  the 
union  has  been  jeoparded  by  the  open  defiance  by  a  state 
of  the  only  peaceful  sanction,  the  judicial  department  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  great  power  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment, the  want  of  which  was  a  primary  motive  to  its 
establishment,  is  the  subject  of  a  compromise. 

Modern  discoveries  of  art  have  supplied  new  and  impor- 
tant ligaments  to  this  union.  Time,  with  its  assimilating 
influences,  has  given  that  union  strength.  Its  mutual  glory 
has  extended  over  it  a  protecting  canopy ;  but  while  the 
patriot  will  ever  devote  himself  to  its  preservation,  he  is 
too  well  aware  how  much  more  probable  is  its  dismember- 
ment than  its  reunion,  to  regard  as  a  visionary  skepticism 
the  paternal  wisdom  of  its  founders,  who  feared  and  doubt- 
ed, while  they  loved  and  hoped. 

The  following  observations  of  Hamilton,  written  just  as 
the  general  convention  adjourned,  give  his  impressions  at 
that  time. 

"  The  new  constitution  has  in  favour  of  its  success  these 


560  THE    LIFE    OP 

circumstances :  A  very  great  weight  of  influence  of  the 
persons  who  framed  it,  particularly  in  the  universal  popu- 
larity of  General  Washington.  The  good- will  of  the  com- 
mercial interest  throughout  the  states,  which  will  give  all 
its  efforts  to  the  establishment  of  a  government  capable  of 
regulating,  protecting,  and  extending  the  commerce  of  the 
union.  The  good-will  of  most  men  of  property  in  the 
several  states,  who  wish  a  government  of  the  union  able  to 
protect  them  against  domestic  violence,  and  the  depreda- 
tions which  the  democratic  spirit  is  apt  to  make  on  pro- 
perty ;  and  who  are  besides  anxious  for  the  respectability 
of  the  nation.  The  hopes  of  the  creditors  of  the  United 
States,  that  a  general  government  possessing  the  means 
of  doing  it,  will  pay  the  debt  of  the  union.  A  strong 
belief  in  the  people  at  large  of  the  insufficiency  of  the 
present  confederation  to  preserve  the  existence  of  the 
union,  and  of  the .  necessity  of  the  union  to  their  safety 
and  prosperity ;  of  course,  a  strong  desire  of  a  change,  and 
a  predisposition  to  receive  well  the  propositions  of  the 
convention. 

"Against  its  success  is  to  be  put,  the  dissent  of  two  or 
three  important  men  in  the  convention,  who  will  think 
their  characters  pledged  to  defeat  the  plan  ;  the  influence 
of  many  inconsiderable  men  in  possession  of  considerable 
offices  under  the  state  governments,  who  will  fear  a  diminu- 
tion of  their  consequence,  power,  and  emolument,  by  the 
establishment  of  the  general  government,  and  who  can 
hope  for  nothing  there ;  the  influence  of  some  consider- 
able men  in  office  possessed  of  talents  and  popularity,  who, 
partly  from  the  same  motives,  and  partly  from  a  desire  of 
playing  a  part  in  a  convulsion  for  their  own  aggrandize- 
ment, will  oppose  the  quiet  adoption  of  the  new  govern- 
ment ;  (some  considerable  men  out  of  office,  from  motives 
of  ambition  may  be  disposed  to  act  the  same  part.)  Add  to 
these  causes  the  disinclination  of  the  people  to  taxes,  and 


HAMILTON.  561 

<&f  course  to  a  strong  government ;  the  opposition  of  all 
men  much  in  debt,  who  will  not  wish  to  see  a  government 
established,  one  object  of  which  is  to  restrain  the  means 
of  cheating  creditors.  The  democratical  jealousy  of  the 
people,  which  may  be  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of  insti- 
tutions that  may  seem  calculated  to  place  the  power  of  the 
community  in  few  hands,  and  to  raise  a  few  individuals  to 
stations  of  great  pre-eminence  ;  and  the  influence  of  some 
foreign  powers,  who,  from  different  motives,  will  not  wish 
to  see  an  energetic  government  established  throughout  the 
states. 

"  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  difficult  to  form  any 
judgment  whether  the  plan  will  be  adopted  or  rejected. 
It  must  be  essentially  matter  of  conjecture.  The  present 
appearances  and  all  other  circumstances  considered,  the 
probability  seems  to  be  on  the  side  of  its  adoption. 

"  But  the  causes  operating  against  its  adoption  are  pow- 
erful, and  there  will  be  nothing  astonishing  in  the  con- 
trary. 

"  If  it  do  not  finally  obtain,  it  is  probable  the  discussion 
of  the  question  will  beget  such  struggles,  animosities,  and 
heats  in  the  community,  that  this  circumstance,  conspiring 
with  the  real  necessity  of  an  essential  change  in  our  present 
situation,  will  produce  civil  war.  Should  this  happen, 
whatever  parties  prevail,  it  is  probable  governments  very 
different  from  the  present  in  their  principles,  will  be  estab- 
lished. A  dismemberment  of  the  union,  and  monarchies 
in  different  portions  of  it,  may  be  expected.  It  may  how- 
ever happen  that  no  civil  war  will  take  place,  but  several 
republican  confederacies  be  established  between  different 
combinations  of  the  particular  states. 

"A  reunion  with  Great  Britain,  from  universal  disgust  at 
a  state  of  commotion,  is  not  impossible,  though  not  much 
to  be  feared.  The  most  plausible  shape  of  such  a  business 
would  be,  the  establishment  of  a  son  of  the  present  mon- 

71 


562  THE    LIFE    OF 

arch  in  the  supreme  government  of  this  country,  with  a 
family  compact. 

"  If  the  government  be  adopted,  it  is  probable  General 
Washington  will  be  the  president  of  the  United  States. 
This  will  ensure  a  wise  choice  of  men  to  administer  the 
government,  and  a  good  administration.  A  good  adminis- 
tration will  conciliate  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the 
people,  and  perhaps  enable  the  government  to  acquire 
more  consistency  than  the  proposed  constitution  seems  to 
promise  for  so  great  a  country.  It  may  then  triumph  al- 
together over  the  state  governments,  and  reduce  them  to  an 
entire  subordination,  dividing  the  larger  states  into  smaller 
districts.  The  organs  of  the  general  government  may  also 
acquire  additional  strength. 

"  If  this  should  not  be  the  case,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  it  is  probable  that  the  contests  about  the  boundaries 
of  power  between  the  particular  governments  and  the 
general  government,  and  the  momentum  of  the  larger  states 
in  such  contests,  will  produce  a  dissolution  of  the  union. 
This,  after  all,  seems  to  be  the  most  likely  result. 

"But  it  is  almost  arrogance  in  so  complicated  a  subject, 
depending  so  entirely  on  the  incalculable  fluctuations  of 
the  human  passions,  to  attempt  even  a 'conjecture  about 
the  event. 

"It  will  be  eight  or  nine  months  before  any  certain 
judgment  can  be  formed  respecting  the  adoption  of  the 
plan." 

Anxious  as  his  forebodings  were,  it  will  be  seen  that  his 
exertions  were  not  for  a  moment  relaxed.  While  he  did 
not  disguise  his  doubts,  he  declared,  "  I  am  persuaded  it  is 
the  best  which  our  political  situation,  habits,  and  opinions 
will  admit,  and  superior  to  any  the  revolution  has  pro- 
duced." "  Though  it  may  not  be  perfect  in  every  part,  it 
is,  upon  the  whole,  a  good  one,  is  the  best  that  the  present 
situation  and  circumstances  of  the  country  will  permit." 


HAMILTON.  563 

Then  followed  his  closing  appeal,  recommending  its  adop- 
tion in  language  which  every  revolving  year  renders  more 
impressive. 

"  To  balance  a  large  society  on  general  laws,"  it  had 
been  said,*  "  the  judgments  of  many  must  unite  in  the 
\rork.  EXPERIENCE  must  guide  their  labour,  TIME  must 
bring  it  to  perfection,  and  the  FEELING  of  inconveniences 
must  correct  the  mistakes  which  they  inevitably  fall  into 
in  their  first  trials  and  experiments."  "  These  judicious 
reflections,"  Hamilton  remarked,  "  contain  a  lesson  of  mo- 
deration to  all  the  sincere  lovers  of  the  union,  and  ought  to 
put  them  upon  their  guard  against  hazarding  anarchy, 
civil  war,  a  perpetual  alienation  of  the  states  from  each 
other,  and  perhaps  the  military  despotism  of  a  victorious 
demagogue,  in  the  pursuit  of  what  they  are  not  likely  to 
obtain  but  from  TIME  and  EXPERIENCE.  It  may  be  in  me 
a  defect  of  political  fortitude,  but  I  acknowledge  that  I 
cannot  entertain  an  equal  tranquillity  with  those  who  affect 
to  treat  the  dangers  of  a  longer  continuance  in  our  present 
situation  as  imaginary.  A  NATION  without  a  NATIONAL 
government,  is  an  awful  spectacle.  The  establishment  of  a 
constitution,  in  time  of  profound  peace,  by  the  voluntary 
consent  of  a  whole  people,  is  a  PRODIGY,  to  the  completion 
of  which  I  look  forward  with  trembling  anxiety." 

*  Hume's  Essays,  v.  1,  p.  128. 


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